Daycare Facilities Prepare For Teacher Walkout

We are just about 50 hours away from a teacher walkout going into effect in Oklahoma.

At least 50 school districts in Green Country alone say they will not be in session Monday morning. That means thousands of parents are going to have to figure out what happens with their kids.

Some said they're running into trouble finding child care next week.

Complete Coverage: School Shutdown

Like many places, the phones at Kid's Clubhouse and Academy in Owasso are ringing off the hook. The only problem is they have a waiting list that's growing by the minute.

"We've been full for a while now, probably a couple years. I have a pretty long waiting list, probably 40 kids on my waiting list," said Co-Owner Teresa Hearn.

Kids' Clubhouse and Academy on North Garnett Road is filled to the brim. Their 2nd location on Ash is also full but that isn't stopping the phones from ringing.

"Lots of phone calls about schools closing, teacher walkouts. We got lots and lots of phone calls but I don't have any room for any extras right now mine are completely full," said Hearn.  

Teresa said it's not easy turning parents away, especially knowing that in some of the smaller communities there aren't many options for child care next week. 

"The boys and girls club says they're going to be open but everybody seems to be full already. There's a couple churches that are opening up but they can't hold so many. Everybody is completely full right now," Hearn said.  

There are a lot of things to take into consideration. Space is a huge issue but also the unknown has facilities like this one scrambling. 

"My main concerns you know food wise and staff wise. If I'm going to have 75 kids here, I have to have the staff for them and food-wise we make our order on Fridays, so I went ahead and ordered for the whole week to have a full daycare so I'm prepared and ready to go,” said Hearn.  

There are also concerns about how long school will be out. 

Owasso’s superintendent said the school board authorized him to cancel classes for up to 10 days. 

He said school doors will open once lawmakers add in the hotel/motel tax or another form of revenue. 

Until then, they're staying closed.