DELAND, Fla. — Parents showed up to drop their kids off at a DeLand daycare Monday morning only to find the center closed. Parents said they never even got a warning from Mr. Cerebro's Learning Center on Howland Boulevard (see map) .
Parents told WFTV the center's director lied to them; he told parents he was simply going on vacation. But, according to a Facebook message a parent received Sunday night, the owner decided to take the whole year off.
Paula Abramson was shocked to find out her daughter's daycare was shutdown Monday morning.
"The daycare owner up and left and left all the families stranded," Abramson said.
She expected Paul Keough, director of Mr. Cerebro's Learning Center, to be back from vacation Monday like he said in a notice he gave parents about two weeks ago. Other parents said they thought the same.
"I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I really do. If he was going to leave he should've told everyone he was leaving," parent Unique Norris said.
The parents would take their kids to another daycare (there's one right next door), but they can't because Keough left with the children's immunization certificates and health exam forms; you can't enroll your child in a daycare without them.
"Some pediatricians charge you for the paperwork," Norris said.
WFTV found out that Keough moved to New Mexico on April 18. On his Facebook page, he posted a state-by-state account of his trip. He even uploaded a picture of himself in his Penske moving truck.
Keough called the Land of Enchantment his new home and posted it was a great move for his family. Nothing was mentioned about the 20 children he left brokenhearted.
"I'm absolutely amazed he could do this to so many families," Abramson said.
Rooms were empty and so were the filing cabinets inside the daycare. The parents paid on a weekly basis and aren't owed any money, but Keough skipped out on his lease four months early.
WFTV called the Department of Children and families and found out Paul Keough didn't violate any laws by shutting down without notice.
WFTV reporter Q. McCray sent Keough a message on Facebook asking him why he didn't tell parents the truth in the first place, but Keough has not yet replied.
WFTV
