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Employees walk out over poor conditions at Jacksonville child care center

Employees of the Jacksonville child care center have accused the facility of poor working conditions and received complaints from parents for lack of communication.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — School and summer camp are in session, but people at Happy Acres Ranch are not happy. 

Employees of the Jacksonville child care center have accused the facility of poor working conditions and received complaints from parents for lack of communication.

Despite the accusations, the facility is open. 

Happy Acres Ranch refused to comment but a former employee, Tailer Bennett tells First Coast News nearly 30 staff members quit. 

“I walked out because management was getting to the point where nobody could bring up a problem without being told if you don't like it you can leave and being told to literally shut up to your face," former employee Bennett said. 

Bennett worked at Happy Acres Ranch for more than three years. She says the facility told employees they had to live on the property when working. Bennett says she refused, but other employees did stay on site. 

“They were living in a trailer that didn't have AC for the first two weeks they were there, so it was hot, they were all crammed into rooms," Bennett said.

 "They had three or four grownups to a room that’s meant for a child. Their showers were like pieces of plywood and there was no drainage, so there was mold in the showers and on the floors. They have to wash all the dishes outside, they had to share bathrooms with children that weren’t being cleaned on a regular basis. People were getting sick. COVID-19 was rampant at one point and nobody was told about it."

Bennett says classrooms were dirty and had minimal supplies for students. 

“There were maggots in the library at one point because trash wasn’t being taken out. Whenever we would get money for supplies, it would almost disappear," Bennett said. 

Since leaving the facility, Bennett says she has stayed in contact with a few parents who say the facility never told them about the staffing changes. 

“Parents were not told when all the counselors left so when their child would go home they would say oh my counselor isn't here today or my teacher was not here and it would raise an eyebrow and just the communication with the parents and the directors and owners of the place was what parents were so concerned about. We went from having more than 100 children to less than 25," Bennett said. 

The facility says it will not comment on the accusations but took to social media to address both summer camp and pre-school families, assuring them "the unexpected staffing changes that occurred on Friday evening does not jeopardize your space for the week.

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