Letter to the Editor: Green on Valley Drive Preschool

To the Editor:

This letter is written in response to the Del Ray Patch's July 31st article entitled "Valley Drive Preschool in Search of a New Home." As both a member of Commonwealth Baptist Church and someone who cares about the future of Valley Drive Preschool, I'm hopeful that I may clarify a few facts:

In 2009, we welcomed Valley Drive Cooperative Preschool into our church building as renters. As in any rental agreement, the landlord and tenant agreed to a wide-range of terms, including length of rental and cost. The Valley Drive Board in 2009 chose to forfeit a 10-year lease and instead went with a 5-year term. The agreed-to term ends in June 2014.

Earlier this year, we evaluated the needs of our community and determined that there was a strong need for more full-time childcare in the area. Our preschool, Abracadabra, currently serves 38 families, and, with a waitlist over 3 years long, we determined that in order to best meet the community's needs, we should expand Abracadabra in order to accommodate more working parents and their families.

Given the strength of our relationship with Valley Drive, we notified them in April (15 months before we're contractually obligated to do so) that we would not renew their lease. We also notified them less than 24 hours after the decision was made. It was not an easy decision, but our church strongly felt it was the right one. We also committed to help Valley Drive as much as possible as they look for and hopefully transition to a new home.

Yes, Valley Drive Cooperative Preschool contributed up to $40,000 to infrastructure improvements in order to move into Commonwealth Baptist Church. The church also contributed over $10,000 and gave Valley Drive a $10,000 rental abatement during the first year of their lease. The church continued to keep Valley Drive's rent well below market value and gave them the use of 3 additional rooms in our church building and the use of half of our parking lot at no additional charge in a good faith effort to recognize their contributions.

Valley Drive Cooperative Preschool is an excellent organization and has been a fantastic tenant. We hope that with over a year to search, they will find a more permanent home. In the meantime, we are focused on welcoming new families to the Abracadabra community over the next 2 years.

Christen Green
Member, Commonwealth Baptist Church