Parents form petition to get daycare moved to new location

Parents of children at the Student Parent Center daycare at University Village aren’t waiting for the university to find solutions to the endangered daycare. Instead, they’ve formed a petition to get the daycare moved to a new, safer location and ensure it stays open.

Several parents told ABC 17 News they keep sending emails and calling to find out what the university’s plan for the daycare is, but they haven’t heard back.

“The children deserve a safe place and I want the university to tell us what’s going on,” Claire Schmidt said.

So she and several other parents formed a petition Friday night and are hoping it will force the university into action.

“We will be circulating it to the community to ask administration to come up with a plan for the daycare that is sustainable, affordable, and safe,” Naomi Clark said.

Parents are worried about both the safety of the building and the future of the daycare.

“If the student center goes away, I won’t be able to graduate in May,” Clark said.

“If the university doesn’t want to put in a new location, it would send a message that there are certain students who are important to MU and there are certain ones who aren’t and apparently student parents are not.

The longer their calls and emails to the university remain unanswered, the more upset these parents say they’ve become.

“I paid for a daycare that turned out unsafe and I’m angry,” Schmidt said. “I’d like the university to acknowledge the fact that they put our children in danger.”

To see or sign the petition, click here: http://www.change.org/petitions/members-of-university-of-missouri-administration-we-urge-you-to-ensure-that-the-student-parent-center-at-university-of-missouri-continues-to-exist-and-is-moved-to-a-safe-accessible-on-campus-location#.