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Some parents are scrambling to find child care after the La Petite Academy in Irmo announced it's closing.

Alicia Schlachta says she found out Tuesday that the school is closing December 12.

The single mother is upset that she was given only 30 days to find a new school, especially around the holidays.

La Petite officials say several factors played into their decision, including building and leasing issues.

The school is working to help the families find alternate care, but Schlachta says it's not easy.

La Petite Statement:

November 14, 2008

It has been our privilege to care for so many wonderful children at our Irmo, South Carolina academy over the years. In fact, our teachers have come to think of themselves as an extension of many of the families we serve.

We are humbled by the support that we’ve received from our families, as it truly serves as a testament to the strong relationships that we have built with both our parents and the children in our care.

So we deeply regret that our families will be displaced by the closing of our academy. This is never a decision that we enter into lightly and a number of factors are considered, including our lease, the age of the building and the ongoing need for child care in the immediate area.

We are working with all of our parents to find alternate child care, including offering transfer incentives to any of our locations or referring them to other providers in the area that meet their needs.

Our Irmo location will be closing on December 12, 2008, giving our families approximately one month to make arrangements for alternate care. We wanted to make our families aware of this as soon as possible, but we also needed to make sure that we had accurate, complete information to share with them.

We will continue to provide the high-level of quality care that our families have come to expect from us at La Petite Academy until our last day of operation and will work hard to make this transition as seamless as possible for everyone involved.