Support and criticism for Castine’s only daycare at public hearing

Voters to decide on Jan. 13 if lease for ‘The Round School’ will be renewed

By Emily Baer

Castine residents discussed the future of the town’s only daycare at a Dec. 11 public hearing that drew both strong support as well as concerns about the school’s safety and leadership.

Nancy Sayre, co-founder of Community Childhood Learning Place in Castine. Photo by John Boit.

The daycare’s ground lease—set a decade ago at $1—for the Community Childhood Learning Place, also known as the Round School, is set to expire in June unless the town votes to renew it on Jan. 13. The school is operated by Nancy Sayre and her husband, who goes by “W.G.”

“Current numbers [at the school] reflect a woefully underutilized facility,” said resident Bobby Vagt. “The town will vote on this in January, but I think it is fair to say a very large component of those families who need and want quality child care have already voted with their feet by walking away from the Round School.”

The discussion hinged on three main issues: competing views of the school, the fate of the building should the lease not be renewed, and the necessity of having a town-wide vote in the first place.

W.G. Sayre, co-founder of the daycare known locally as the Round School. Photo by John Boit.

“The thing that also seems a bit off base right now is that this should not be in the referendum,” said Tim Moore, a current board member of the daycare and the architect of the building, referring to the impending public vote on Jan. 13. 

“There's no referendum mentioned in the contract,” he said, arguing that the decision to renew the lease should be made by the select board and not by town vote.

“If they wanted the select board to vote, it would have said ‘the select board shall vote,’” said Mary Costigan, the town’s attorney. “But it doesn't. It says the town shall vote, which means the town meeting shall vote.”

Safety concerns

Residents spoke both for and against the school at the 90-minute hearing.

Peter Lewis, whose infant son was enrolled at the school said “eight hours is all it took for us to know that it wasn't a safe place.”

“I just want to make clear we're talking about care for children here,” Lewis said, recounting his family’s brief tenure at the Round School and the safety concerns that led to their decision to leave after a health scare with his newborn son.

“They gave our son water,” he said. “That can cause hyponatremia [in infants] and lead to brain damage. If I hadn't walked in the door at the moment I did, my son could have been in the hospital or much worse.”

Peter Lewis, whose infant son once attended the daycare raised safety concerns about the Round School. Photo by John Boit.

W.G. Sayre addressed that specific incident in later remarks.

“When staff makes mistakes, it’s not because of leadership,” W.G. Sayre said. “It’s because the staff didn’t know exactly what to do, especially with a four-month old with water. [There] was not enough food provided by the parents to keep the child content. They made a mistake–had nothing to do with us. It had to do with the staff.”

Others spoke about persistent safety concerns and how they had ultimately decided to pull their children from the daycare. “These parents tried to make it work,” said Vagt. “And I would note that there are many other parents [with concerns] who are unable to be here tonight.” 

“The town vote provides us the opportunity to thank Nancy, W.G., and the others who have worked to bring [the school] to life,” Vagt said. “And it gives us the chance to address the concerns raised over time by parents and other residents with respect to matters such as responsiveness to families, operational stability, and leadership structure.”

A vital service

Others who support the school and want the lease to be renewed say the Jan. 13 town-wide vote poses an existential threat to the community.

“The town of Castine is in desperate need of attracting young people into this community,” said resident Gene Fignar. “We have to encourage young people to come to this town and one of the ways to do that is through child care.”

Several said the Round School provides a level of care that cannot be found elsewhere.

Zander Parker praised the education his three children have received at the school. Photo by John Boit.

“There’s nothing [in the area] that comes close to the quality of the facility and the curriculum at CCLP,” said current CCLP parent Kate McMahon in a letter read to the audience. “Or the value.”

Zander Parker, another parent who has had three children at the school, agreed.

“Our kids have not once returned home talking about what they saw on a computer screen,” Parker said. “They enjoy age-appropriate play and learning tasks and they are outdoors all year round.”

What about the building?

Since the town leases land to the daycare but does not own the building—that was built at the Sayres’ expense—there is lingering confusion about what would happen to the building if the lease is not renewed.

“The building is the Sayre’s investment,” said resident Ann Robinson, suggesting that the town would owe the couple for the cost of construction if they were forced to take their business elsewhere. “We can't ask people to build a building for us and then take it away.”

Select board chair Dan Leader explained that if the lease expires or is terminated the tenant must “promptly” deliver all “improvements” to the town, per the contract.

Nancy Sayre agreed with that point during the meeting.

“My husband and I have put in over $200,000 into this. We are not asking for any money to be returned to us,” she said. We did it because we love children and because we believe that families need support.”

Continuity of care

Ann Robinson raised the question of who owns the building if the lease is not renewed. Photo by John Boit.

Should the town vote to not renew the daycare’s lease in January, the current lease would expire in June. The town could then issue a request for proposals, including for a new daycare operator. The Round School would be eligible to submit a proposal, officials said.

Still, residents questioned whether there is enough time to create a request for proposals, accept bids, secure state licensing and permits for a new daycare, and get a new business up and running on the site by mid-2026.

“In the event that this does not pass, how are we going to address a gap in child care?” asked resident Mark Morgioni. “We have nowhere else to send our kids.” 

The town-wide vote on the daycare lease will be held on Jan. 13. Absentee ballots are now available through the town office. Polls will be open from 8 am to 8 pm.