Makoura Early Childhood Centre. PHOTO/FILE
KAREN COLTMAN
[email protected]
Makoura Community Early Childhood Centre Incorporated Society ceased trading in March 2019 and went into liquidation which was completed last Friday.
The society is now defunct after existing since 1979.
The community-based childcare service was governed by a management committee made up of parents and staff and most recently chaired by Kate Tosswill of Bagshot Farm.
Liquidators Rodgers Reidy Chartered Accountants were appointed by committee members in May 2019.
The childhood centre shut on March 12, 2019 but was sold a month later.
New owner Paulette Hall reopened with the new name, Makoura Early Learning Centre.
Tosswill was pleased it was still running.
“It is wonderful a new entity has taken over,” she said.
“Providing the service and the teen parent unit is a wonderful result for the community.”
The Wairarapa Teen Parent Unit that runs from Makoura College was established in partnership with the early childhood centre, which is next-door.
It services teen parents or pregnant teenagers [under 19-year-olds] so they can reach their educational goals while entering parenthood.
But in July 2018, the centre made a significant loss, prompting the committee to consider restructuring the operation, including exiting a New Zealand Educational Institute agreement which, was deemed financially unsustainable.
The decision to close the centre was taken after several staff took stress leave and the centre was unable to find sufficient staff to replace them.
Six staff were later made redundant.
Joint liquidator Lynda Smart worked to settle the centre’s debts and pay out most debtors leaving just over $3000 owed which, was deemed “not recoverable”.
Employees were paid what was owed to them, which was a combination of redundancy pay and holiday pay totalling $102,753.51.
Liquidator’s fees came to $27,965.
Tosswill had no comment about the balance sheet.
