COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A Colorado Springs daycare center shut down with little warning this week, leaving dozens of families without childcare and staff members without paychecks.
Kid City USA on Dublin Avenue closed its doors with just a week’s notice. Five days after requesting a raise for educator Shadya Draper, CEO Audrey Bruner sent a message announcing the daycare would close Friday, October 31.
Staff ultimately decided to close even earlier, citing late paychecks.
"They literally were crying, saying goodbye to our children. We were crying," said Sarah Whitby, a Kid City USA parent.
The daycare, which was bustling with small children just days ago, now sits empty with toys still scattered where children left them.
"Not only are they losing teachers, but they have no center to take their kids to," Draper said.
Staff members say their paychecks have been routinely late since May, sometimes up to five days behind schedule. They claim the company owes them money for multiple pay periods.
"They owe us money for the last pay period, which was 2 weeks, but now they owe us money for last week and this week, which we were supposed to be open for all week," Shadya said.
Parents paid monthly fees upfront but received no prorated refunds when the center closed early.
"They took our payment and then left us with no care," said Whitby.
Both parents and teachers say their attempts to reach Bruner for answers have gone unanswered.
Court records show Bruner faces multiple lawsuits, including eviction notices and debt collection cases across the country.
She has also been fined thousands of dollars for overcrowding in her daycares, and news reports indicate that other Kid City USA locations have closed abruptly elsewhere.
I reached out to Bruner for comment but received no reply.
"She doesn't care about the kids, she doesn't care about the families, and at the end of the day, when she closes our centers, she is not, I think, in her head she's not liable to pay us or continue reaching out to us or keeping us in the loop with anything," Shadya said.
The sudden closure has left staff and families scrambling. Some employees face financial hardship, while parents struggle to find alternative childcare options.
"I'm facing eviction because of this. It's pretty dire," Shadya said.
Sarah is now paying Shadya directly for childcare while she searches for other options.
"I'm blessed enough to be able to figure some things out, and you know, pay her so that she can take care of them while I can go and finish my jobs that I need to do tomorrow," Whitby says.
The closure compounds existing challenges in El Paso County, where childcare options are already limited. The timing coincides with ongoing government shutdowns that have affected other services in the area.
For both staff and parents, plans remain uncertain as they work to rebuild their childcare and employment situations.
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