After nearly 60 years serving the community, St. George’s Preschool will be closing effective June 2.
The announcement was made with great regret by the Rev. Amy Pringle, rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church.
Established on the church grounds in 1969, St. George’s Preschool was initially one of only three preschools in town. Generations of La Cañada Flintridge residents have rich memories of the Red Door and the annual Dragon Fair. Friendships made there often continued through high school and beyond.
“Oh, what happy years our family spent there!” said parent and former St. George teacher Judy Kelly. “Who could fail to flourish in such a caring atmosphere known for nurturing kids and young families?”
Pringle noted several significant factors that contributed to the necessity to close:
Over time, the La Cañada Flintridge’s population has been aging, and fewer young families have been moving in.
“Our enrollment is simply too meager — we’re licensed for 124 students, and our business model is structured to work with close to that many; but this year we had only 38 enrolled, and with 85-90% of enrollment in for next year, the count is even lower than that,” Pringle said. “This amounts to close to a $200,000 loss for the church, between expenses not covered and income gaps filled in, and we simply can’t sustain this for another year.”
Concurrently, the number of preschools has increased from three to about 15. Finally, the impact of COVID left its mark. In the end, keeping the preschool open another year would result in a $100,000 deficit and was not financially feasible, Pringle said.
Following the painful decision by the church Vestry, Pringle informed Lily Talamantes, director of the preschool. In turn, they notified teachers and staff.
Efforts are being made to connect current students and staff with other nearby preschools, according to the school.
A St. George’s Preschool reunion is being planned in the coming months so that staff and families, past and present, can gather together.
Pringle said the school is currently in the process of engaging the services of a commercial broker to market the whole church/preschool property.
“For now, this might be an act of information-gathering; if the market is too low, we may rethink,” Pringle said in a statement. “Then again, if we get a great offer, we’re likely to take it. We’ve been interviewing and receiving proposals from a number of potential brokers, and all seem to be in agreement that the most likely purchaser of the property will be another church, school or church-school combo. This is the best option all around, for you and for us. We’ve asked for an initial period of marketing only to these ‘user’ buyers, before marketing to developers, though we will eventually market to developers, in order to see how their offers compare to those we may receive from ‘user’ buyers.”
Pringle said the school is likely to have another update for the community sometime in June.
First published in the March 30 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
