USM to close child-care centers
The University of Southern Maine will close child-care centers at its campuses in Portland and Gorham to save $400,000 a year.
The two centers, which have served USM students, faculty and staff since 1974, will close Aug. 14, according to a statement on USM's website from President Selma Bottman. The centers employ 24 and serve a total of 88 children. Last July, the centers became one of the first early childhood programs in the nation to earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Bottman said closing the child-care centers was an "excruciating decision," but called it necessary in the school's search for financial sustainability and to avoid cuts to core academic programs. USM needs to cut $2.7 million from its current fiscal year budget. "We have provided a $400,000 annual subsidy to the child care program, a subsidy we regrettably can no longer afford," Bottman wrote in her statement.
Last month, the school said it would close its Lifeline Center for Wellness and Health Promotion on July 31. That decision will affect five full-time and 15 part-time staff and save the school more than $200,000 a year.
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