Castine officials ‘hope to accelerate’ proposal process for daycare

Jan. 28, 2026

By Emily Baer

CASTINE—Castine’s select board met with Mary Costigan, the town’s attorney, on Jan. 21 to begin the legal review of a request for proposals aimed at securing a new tenant for a State Street daycare facility.

The current daycare operator, Community Childhood Learning Place, known locally as the Round School, announced earlier this month that they will be closing on Jan. 29 after a town referendum vote to renew their ground-lease failed.

The draft is still under review, but with local parents scrambling to find childcare, the select board is moving quickly, according to town manager Derek Goodine.

“We hope to accelerate the timeline as fast as possible while also allowing interested parties the time to put plans and packages together for submission,” Goodine in an email to The Rising Tide.

The select board’s “desire is for this facility to continue to be used for early childhood education/daycare” Goodine wrote. He said the board will “possibly” review the RFP again during its executive session on Feb. 2.

During a public hearing in December, the town’s select board said that CCLP would be able to submit a new lease application. A successful childcare proposal would require that the tenant pass all state-mandated inspections and licensing requirements. Final approval would require a public vote.