7 On Your Side helps day care get funding owed by NYC Department of Education
QUEENS (WABC) -- A Queens day care provided free preschool but didn't get paid the funding it was owed from May to August.
Universal free Pre-K is a lifeline for working parents across the city.
The program gets over $1 billion in state and federal funds.
This is not the first time we went to bat for these Pre-K providers.
After the New York City Department of Education didn't pay up, the cooks, the maintenance staff, and the teachers and administrators all kept working for free.
Maintenance manager, Benny Miller has devoted the last 23 years of his life to Quick Start Daycare. This summer, when the school suddenly didn't have the money to pay the janitor, he still showed up, every day.
"How come?" 7 On Your Side's Nina Pineda asked.
"Because I love the kids and love the school," Miller said.
There are 76 kids who attend Quick Start.
School administrator Adrienne Bond says the invoices she sent the New York City Department of Education weren't paid for four months.
"It was extremely stressful because I had to come in and see staff literally crying tears," Bond said. "And when I say crying to some of them was saying, I'm getting eviction notices. The lights were turned off."
Absent the money, the consequences trickled down to the entire staff.
Bond says the school's 2024 invoices totaled $66,548 plus another $43,600 from 2021.
"Has it ever been as bad as it was for this facility?" Pineda asked.
"No. This was absolutely the worst. It was very scary because we started thinking the building was going to shut down because of this," Bond said.
"How often are the funds supposed to be released? Pineda asked.
"Monthly," Bond said. "And I started noticing a little late. I want to say, I will say in March."
After ringing local politicians about the unpaid school bill, nothing changed.
"Then after that, we said, 'You know what, let's just contact 7 On Your Side.' And that's when the heavens for me, oh, the heavens have opened up. I know there was light at the end of the tunnel," Bond said.
7 On Your Side contacted the New York City DOE and after two months of back and forth, payday!
"A thorough review of our records shows that Quick Start Daycare Center has had all its invoices paid this year, with an average 11-day turnaround from submission to payment. We appreciate 7 On Your Side for flagging that the provider has outstanding invoices from 2021, pre-dating this administration, which we have now paid out," said the press secretary for New York City Public Schools.
They got a lump sum of $98,549.
All employees got their back pay.
"What's the first thing you did with your money?" Pineda asked.
"Paid bills!" Miller said.
Others said they paid their credit card bills and their children's tuition.
"They thought it was like hitting the lotto overnight. But, it was actually what they worked for," Bond said.
"We got paychecks! Thank you, 7 On Your Side!" the staff said.
It arrived just in time for school to start. It's incredible most of the staff hung in there all summer with no pay.
The Department of Education said the back pay was from 2021 predating Mayor Eric Adams' administration.
The city added, "We look forward to continuing our partnership with Quick Start as they nurture our youngest learners."
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