Seaford church to close beloved preschool after 60 years

A beloved preschool in Seaford will shutter June 30 after six decades of service to the community because of an aging congregation and growing expenses, church leaders said in a press release.

The United Methodist Church of Seaford board of trustees voted March 2 to close its Seaford Community Preschool, which currently serves about 100 students, church officials said in an email.

Most of the congregation is over 60 and can no longer take on keeping up with maintenance, hiring and paying contractors for larger maintenance jobs and ensuring compliance for state and town licenses, the release said.

Use of the building is free to the school as part of the church’s child care ministry. The school pays most of the utilities, church officials said.

The school, located at the church at 2160 Washington Ave., offers programs for 2½-, 3- and 4-year-olds, plus a summer program, according to the school's website.

The staff had secured a universal pre-K contract from the Seaford school district to keep the preschool running but the church board voted against accepting the contract.

"After much prayer and discernment, with great sadness, the Seaford Board of Trustees concluded the issues facing the church’s child care ministry are beyond what accepting a Universal Pre-K contract could effectively remediate," the release said.

"The nearly unanimous decision was that United Methodist Church of Seaford no longer has the congregational commitment, ministerial bandwidth, and financial resources needed to support the preschool."

Meghan Calvagno, an assistant teacher at the school for two years, said the staff and families of students were very upset.

"Why would you want to close a thriving school?" Calvagno said. "It feels really unfair."

She said the school currently employs 25 teachers and about 120 families had signed up for next year.

Calvagno said this would leave parents scrambling for next year and the summer because most preschool program registration has already taken place.

Caitlin Kennedy, of Seaford, has three children, one who graduated from the preschool and another in the 3-year-old program. She too is a graduate of the school.

"I’m absolutely devastated," Kennedy said. "We love it there; the teachers are so engaging. How can they uproot all of these families?"

Church leaders offered apologies to those impacted by the closure.

"We understand that transitioning a church-based preschool can be emotional and extremely difficult," the Rev. Richard Hanse, district superintendent for the New York Annual Conference Long Island East District, said in the press release. "We pray it will also present an opportunity to honor the past and embrace new ways to serve the community in the future in more sustainable ways."

In an email to Newsday, Lisa Isom, communications director for the New York Annual Conference for the United Methodist Church, said the church and its congregation were legally and financially responsible for the school. Because the school is operated as a ministry, use of the building is offered free as a gift, she said.

Hanse also thanked the congregation for its volunteer work over the years.

"We thank the disciples of the UMC of Seaford for their long-standing dedication to supporting the church's preschool ministry and recognize the contributions of our church members, honor each one, and will ensure that their faith and dedication are remembered long after the preschool’s final days," Hanse said in the press release.