EXCERPTS
TEXARKANA, Texas Klondike Academy, a daycare center here, will close its doors May 28 after four years of operations. Pamela Reynolds, interim director and one of the owners, says they reached that decisions after realizing they just did not have the staff to continue operations.
"With the difficulties in the present labor pool, we just can't get the people we need to keep it running," she said. "To be on the staff of a place like this, you need people with the right credentials. And we pride ourselves on high standards here. I care about children and I need to best of the best to run Klondike Academy."
According to Reynolds, the staff shortage that is currently affecting many labor pools in the area is affecting the childcare and preschool field as well. She says many such facilities in the area are experiencing similar shortages.
"I'm concerned my kids may not have a place to go," she said. "They are all short-staffed at present."
Reynolds herself is wearing more than one hat, as interim director.
"We lost our director recently, April Green, great girl," Reynolds said. "We were having trouble finding a new one. You can't run a childcare center without one. We looked as far as Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Dallas. Not one with the qualifications we need is presently available.
Reynolds says that standards set by the state create some of the difficulty.
"Besides the complications created by COVID, the state sets the standards of certification as well as ratio of teachers to children," she said. "Not the schools."
Reynolds does not anticipate Klondike Academy reopening.