Those are the words of Christine Breno, a fundraiser for the Ellenville Cooperative Nursery School, a village institution for 55 years. Breno tells the history of the school; that it was originally created by Sally Berger and Mildred Resnick out of a need in the community.

Year after year, Ellenville's parents have been dropping their kids off at the nursery school on Washington Avenue. For decades, this staple of the Ellenville community has provided a safe haven for young tots who want to learn and grow in a fun and educational environment. The school has even seen multiple generations of enrollees, with nursery school-alumni growing up, coming back to Ellenville, and sending their own children to enjoy the fun of the school just like they were able to at that age.

"It's really hands-on," says Breno. "It's come a long way over the last couple of years only because parents have to work, and times are changing, so it's very hard. So it's a difficult situation we're faced with."

Breno says that now, more than ever before, the nursery school which has served the area for more than half a century is in need of financial assistance.

"We've been on the decline for several years for several different reasons, but financially, this will be our toughest year to start," she says.

"The expenses incur all year long," says Wayne Storey, president of the nursery school board, about the difficulties the nursery school faces leading up to the new school year. "Although enrollment is looking good for September, there's just no income coming in for the summer months. That's really what it boils down to. You have to hold things up through July and August until that enrolment starts to come in, so that you're playing catch up for the year."

According to Storey, the nursery school currently has an enrolment of 12 or 13 kids, which is enough to open the doors in September, but "is down from other years."

Part of the problem, according to Breno, is that the nursery school has had to compete with the public school's free pre-kindergarten program as well as changing times to meet the needs of the community's parents. As such, the nursery school, which formerly provided two sessions for its students — a two-and-a-half hour period in the morning, then another in the afternoon — has had to adapt to the new and different needs of the area's families.

"There are different programs that we offer," explains Breno. "They can come for an all day session, and there's a half-day session. We've changed our whole program…we had to change it last year based on what we were faced with. It ranges from $180 a month, which is three days a week, all the way up to $460 for the entire month with an all-day situation every day."

"Every month, our expenses are higher," laments Breno. "I would say we'd need close to 25 kids so we can make it."

To make matters worse, the school cannot take any funding from corporations because it does not have 501(c) 3 status.

"We can take private donations, but we can't take from corporations," explains Breno. "There's a lot of money to be had there, but that's a little bit of a process to start changing around, but we're hoping.

"We're a regular not-for-profit, but we're not a 501(c) 3," she elaborates. "We're hoping to change it, but that's going to cost us about $1,000 to do, and it probably won't happen until the beginning of next year. They should've changed it a long time ago, but it changes hands every year, and we make it, and then everything's okay.

"People do know that we're in trouble," admits Breno, going on to explain that while, in the past, the school did not want to publicize its financial hardships, the school's board feels that the time is right to let people in the community know about their situation in the hopes that this community-mainstay's grim financial outlook can be improved.

"Because there's so many alumni here in the area, I think once they know about our situation, we can pull out of it," she says. "I think that they'll be more than willing to help us until we get situated."

If you want to help, or are interested in enrolling a child at the school, give them a call at 647-6405.

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