Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

First Presbyterian Church of Howell says it is "stepping in to refund tuition for classes its Children's Care Center will not be able to provide," following last week's abrupt closure that caught both staff and parents off guard.

The preschool was supposed to remain open until the end of may despite the daycare closing in December, but parents and staff learned Friday in an email the program was shutting down immediately due to what the church described as "financial difficulties."

"It just feels like they don't really care about the children," said Sarilda Olvin, whose daughter was in her second year at the preschool.

She told WXYZ her family spent the weekend crying and trying to explain to her 4-year-old daughter that she wouldn't be returning to school or seeing her friends and teachers again.

Emily Schifano's son also was in his second year at the school.

"We wanted to do whatever we could to stay on top of the finances — offered a blank check, offered fundraising, offered a multitude of different things and we were shut down," Schifano said.

Parents are now scrambling to find care while their children face a sudden break in their education.

"You call everyone in the county and see who has room but also they do miss out on that classroom experience — the socialization, the skills that they learn that they'll need essentially going into kindergarten — that now there's a break in their education. And if anywhere will take her, and you know it's a real struggle, that's a big change for a 4-year-old," Olvin said.

A church spokesperson sent a statement:

"Last week, the church leadership of First Presbyterian was surprised to discover that the Children's Care Center had abruptly run out of money and could not pay its staff or bills. Closer inspection revealed the depths of the problem and meant that we had to break the news to parents on Friday that the Center had closed. This has come as a shock, and First Presbyterian Church is stepping in to refund parents' tuition money for classes the Center will not be able to provide, as well as ensuring that staff are paid and assuming the Center's debts. We sympathize with parents experiencing this disruption, and are disappointed with them at how suddenly this has taken place."