CLERMONT, Fla. — A dirty facility, holes in the wall and a toilet that wouldn't flush were some of the violations Channel 9 uncovered when reporter Janai Norman dug deeper to find out why a Lake County day care closed its doors.
The owner of the Appleseed Learning Academy in Clermont closed its doors last Wednesday without giving parents or employees any notice.
Norman found in state records showing there were six reports of violations from the last year.
The owner is also being evicted from the building.
Appleseed Learning Academy teachers said they were not surprised to see the eviction notices, alleging the owner, Leonteen Gillis, was $14,000 behind on rent.
"That's happened many a times," said teacher Alicia Rice.
The teachers also said they weren't surprised when they didn't get their paychecks on time Tuesday.
"It wasn't like a consistency of receiving checks on pay day," said teacher Jackie Sostita.
"I texted her asking if we're going to get paid, but no reply," said teacher Peaj Persaud.
Parents said they are wondering how they'll be able to collect their children's belongings and get a refund for days of child care they paid for but didn't get when Gillis closed the day care doors last week.
The Department of Children and Families' website showed Appleseed was inspected 11 times last year, with violations in six of those reports.
In February, Gillis was cited because meals didn't meet nutritional standards.
"They weren't receiving the nutrition or the food they were entitled to," said Sostita.
Norman found multiple citations for areas in the day care needing cleaning, like dirty rugs and a toilet that didn't flush, plus safety concerns like sharp, jagged edges on the playground.
Rice said Gillis went a couple of months without insurance at the day care.
"That's when the (Early) Learning Coalition took her money and that's basically what forced us out of a job," Rice said.
The Early Learning Coalition confirmed it terminated state funding for Appleseed, effective Jan. 6, which was the day Gillis closed the doors and changed the locks.
Norman stopped by another Appleseed day care on Conway Road that's owned by Gillis, but the property owner said she has never had any problems at that location.