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St. Paul's Child Development Center closing due to financial loss

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Alexis Romero, mom to three-year-old Maximus, attends St. Paul's Child Development Center and says she is feeling disheartened after hearing that the center is closing.

“If any of the parents are feeling what I am feeling right now is heartache and sadness,” said Romero.

She says she was notified about the closure Friday via email.

“Not only is my son going to lose great role models when it comes to the teachers helping him grow as a toddler, but we are losing just great teachers in a daycare,” Romero said.

Romero says it took her three months to find the right place for Maximus and is worried about the change to his routine once he leaves St. Paul's.

The Child Development Center said in their online statement that their last day of operation will be August 30.

“I know there have been employees who have been here for 10 and 15 years and now they will be out of a job and I know what that feels like”, Romero said.

When asked if the recent closure was related to their citation, they received from social services on June 5, 23ABC was told to refer to this online statement.

The citation involved a child who received second-degree burns to her feet due to standing on a rubber padded area without shoes.

The statement in part reads, “the leadership of St. Paul’s has not made this decision lightly, especially after so many years of the CDC’s operation and service to the community. However, the CDC has been operating at a financial loss for some time, which necessitates its closure.”

State records show that St. Paul ‘s has received 13 citations since 2015, when they became a full-time facility.

“God knows my son gets into stuff falls, scrapes himself up, and we don’t know what the full situation was,” Romero said. “We can't make judgments and we all know there is going to be mistakes made.”

St. Paul's also said in their statement that they are looking at other possibilities of engagement with the community in the future.