MCDC News

MCDC Community,

We’ve attached the final copy of the recently completed Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) financial review of MCDC, completed by the MSFC Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s Quality Assurance and Controls Office. The review – which covered CY19 and CY20 – assessed MCDC’s management, financial, and operational controls to provide reasonable assurance that resources are being used efficiently and effectively.

Thank you to the prior board for requesting this review. It uncovered areas that need improvement and opportunities to strengthen our controls.  We are thankful for MSFC's time and effort to provide us feedback on ways to improve our business.  With their feedback and collaborative interaction, we are inspired and excited to reform our practices and policies to make our center the best childcare center available

Following receipt of the final report, we met with MSFC leadership on 18 July to discuss a path forward.

In response to the review findings, we are currently overhauling all MCDC policies and procedures to put controls into place to ensure current and future Boards adhere to best practices. We have updated the MCDC bylaws and are waiting feedback from a legal review before presenting our proposed changes to the community. All other documents that require updating – from our operating policies and business manual to the employee handbook – are dependent on having a firm set of current bylaws as a starting point. We are planning a third-party financial audit and working closely with MSFC to address all their review findings, which includes producing an annual financial statement.

When reading the review, you will note that in multiple evaluations to our responses, MSFC found us only partially responsive due to our failure to include a specific date for completion of response actions. During the 18 July 2022 meeting with MSFC, the MCDC BOD explained that we could not provide a date until the legal review was completed and results provided to us.  MSFC was satisfied with our response and our recommendation to establish recurring status review meetings of the action plans.

If you have questions about the review, we are available at your convenience. Please remember that our biweekly Board meetings are open to the entire membership. Our next meeting is this Friday, 5 August at 1000 hrs via MSTeams. We will dedicate the first 30 minutes of Friday’s meeting to an open discussion of the financial review. As always, you can also reach us at mcdcboardofdirectors@gmail.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!

MCDC Board of Directors

MCDC Membership,

Good afternoon!

The Board reviewed our existing fee schedule over the last few weeks and made a few changes to identify areas to increase revenue for MCDC without raising the cost of tuition.

Waitlist Fee. Increased from $25 to $100 effective 1 August 2022. MCDC has long charged $25 for new families to apply for our waitlist. Current families do not need to pay to add a child to the waitlist. We surveyed both other NASA and Huntsville daycares, and found most are charging at least $50, with Ardent charging $200 and Heritage $250. This change will not impact current families and will raise thousands more annually for our center.

Annual Membership Fee. Increased to $100 for all families effective 1 August 2022. Previously, current families were charged $75 while waitlist families were charge a pro-rated fee based on when they joined the waitlist. To simplify our fee structure while increasing revenue, all families will be charged $100 during our annual re-enrollment period.

Annual Administrative Fee. Increased to $50 per child for all enrolled children effective 1 August 2022. Previously known as a registration fee, all enrolled children were charged $35.

Delayed Enrollment Fee. We also made a big change to our enrollment process. When the registrar offers a family an open spot at MCDC, previously families were allowed to delay enrollment up to 2 weeks without being charged tuition to hold the spot. This meant MCDC could be without revenue for that timeframe. Effective 8 July 2022, families wishing to accept a spot at MCDC are required to begin paying tuition on the offered date to secure the spot. This small process change will ensure MCDC doesn’t lose up to $500 per child.

We know we’re sending a lot of financial updates over the last few weeks. As a Board we are also drafting updates to MCDC’s bylaws and policies and developing an updated fundraising plan among a host of other items! We know that to balance low tuition with competitive salaries in this era of high inflation we need to review our limited revenue sources so that has been one of our top priorities as we get closer to the fall when we prepare our annual budget.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

MCDC Board of Directors

Good afternoon!

MCDC strives to provide the best care possible for all your children. We know adjusted hours during the COVID pandemic have been challenging for all of us. We are working hard to get MCDC back to full manning to adjust our hours back to 6:45 AM to 5:45 PM as quickly as possible.

Please remember that while these adjusted hours have been hard on all of us, we must be considerate of our staff and their own families. We all understand that “life happens,” but please remember that departing MCDC after closing impacts more than just your family. Our staff cannot leave to get home to their own families. In addition to this personal cost, there is a financial cost to all of us as we must pay staff past their normal hours.

The Board of Directors recently voted to revise our policy regarding late fees. Effective Monday, late fees will be applied to your account if children are checked out via Brightwheel after closing time. Late fees will be assessed by family – not individual children. Members will be charged $50 if children are signed out after closing time. For example, if MCDC is closing at 5:30 PM, a $50 late fee will be applied to members signing out starting at 5:31 PM. This fee change is not intended to generate revenue for the center, but to emphasize the importance of adhering to our operating hours. It is our sincere hope that it is never applied to any accounts. This policy will be strictly enforced to ensure equal application across all members. The Board of Directors reserves the right to waive a late fee by majority vote when extenuating circumstances are present (e.g. unexpected early closing for severe weather). For more information on the late fee policy, please see the attached Resolution 2022-03.

We are in the process of updating all MCDC policies and procedures, starting with the bylaws. To support incremental adjustments as required, the Board passed the attached Resolution 2022-02 allowing us to approve supplemental updates to the operating manual without updating the entire manual every few weeks. All changes to items covered in the operating manual will be emailed to the membership and posted on our website within 2 weeks.

I have also attached Resolution 2022-04 capturing our updated operating hours.

As always, please feel free to reach out to the board at mcdcboardofdirectors@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns!

Carrie Olden

President

MCDC Board of Directors

MCDC Families,

It  looks like we may be facing some possible severe weather Thursday (tomorrow 2/17/22).  Please review our severe weather procedures and keep a close eye on the weather tomorrow.  Be sure that you have your notifications turned on for Brightwheel  and you check your email periodically.  Please also sign up for text alerts (Text @mcdcf to 81010).

In the event of a tornado warning, we will take the children to our protective areas.  The protective areas with phone numbers are listed below.  Once everyone is in their protective areas, the doors will be locked and no one will be able to enter or exit during a warning.  We will not release your child to you if Madison County is still under a tornado warning, even if the arsenal is not at direct risk.  Please avoid coming to the center during a tornado warning.

We will only close if Redstone Arsenal or MSFC closes.  We do not follow the school systems. In the event of a closure, I will send out an email, post to Brightwheel, post to social media, our website and send out a text alert.  We will try to give as much notice as possible in the event of an early closure; however, please go ahead and have a plan in place so that your child is picked up and out of the  building on time.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Infants/Creepers; Laundry Room 256-961-0975

Toddlers; Supply Closet in front lobby (no phone)

Explorers: Kitchen 256-961-0934

Preschool: Library 256-961-0976

MCDC will be closed tomorrow Friday 1/7/22 due to Redstone Arsenal only being open to key and essential Personnel. 

Stay safe on the roads and have a great weekend!

We will be operating our normal hours today 7am-5:15pm.  We will be monitoring the weather conditions and Redstone Arsenal status.  We will update if there are any changes.

Please let us know if your child will not be in attendance.

Thank you! 

Kelli Wright, Director

MCDC Parents and Staff,

Due to Redstone Arsenal delaying opening until 10am tomorrow morning, Monday 1/3/22, MCDC will be delaying our opening until 10am as well. 

All staff will need to report by 10am and lunch will be served.

Please be careful traveling tomorrow!

MCDC Families,

Thanks to all those who participated in our annual budget vote yesterday. We are pleased to announce the 2022 MCDC Budget passed. The Board, including Director and staff, works diligently to ensure we provide quality care for our families at a competitive rate while attracting and retaining talented staff members. The last two years presented unpredictable new challenges and we appreciate the support our membership has shown as we adapt and grow. As always, any further questions or feedback can be directed to the board at MCDCboardofdirectors@gmail.com.

New Tuition Rates Effective January 3, 2022:

Infants                  $262

Creepers               $253

Toddlers                 $244

Explorers                $238

Pre C                     $224

Pre B                     $221

Pre A                     $214

Budget Vote

In-Person: 39 Yes, 6 No

Absentee: 10 Yes, 5 No

Thank you, and happy new year!

MCDC Board of Directors

Robyn Crabtree

Alexandra Dominguez

Heath Martin

Eleasa Wilson

Mary Christian Brewer

Kate Estes

Sarah Bradford

Kelli Wright

Cecilia Finn