Curious children show interest at the Siler day care center, which is set to close in December. (Caitlin McGill / The Clarion Call)

CLARION, Pa., Nov. 3 – It has been almost a month since news of the closing of the Earl R. Siler Child Care and Development Center was announced.

This news has impacted faculty to student-parents to education majors. The center is being closed due to financial reasons and action has been taken on all levels to find another option rather than shutting Siler’s doors.

Petitions have been circulating over the past few weeks for Clarion University students as well as faculty, to show support for keeping the center open. The number of signatures has been positive, according to several sources.

But signatures do not guarantee a cash flow. So, several men and women from Clarion University’s administration have taken it upon themselves to look for options to save the day care and development center.

“The news of the closing was broken to the faculty of the university in a very untimely manner,” said Dr. Thomas Rourke, professor of political science.

Rourke said that there was talk earlier of possibly closing the center due to funding, but nothing was permanently decided.

Because the administration found out in what Rourke calls “fairly short notice,” there has not been a lot of time to find alternatives to closing the doors.

Rourke recently called government agencies in Washington, D.C., to inquire about a federal program for child care. The downside to the program is that another session does not begin until 2011, so the center would have to close or find another alternative until that time.

Grants have also been researched, and this combined with a raised fee may generate enough money to keep the center open. An alternative organization could also take over the center, but union jobs would be affected, which poses other issues.

Rourke said that he can’t speak for the rest of the faculty of the university, as he is unsure where they all stand. However, the Dean of office and its administration, the president, and the provost are aware that there are people who utilize the Siler Center and want to keep it open.

“What this will eventually boil down to is: ‘Is the administration willing to reconsider their previous decision?’” said Rourke.

The administration of Clarion University has said it will continue to explore the possibilities of saving the Siler Center.

Dr. Robert Girvan, professor of sociology, said that the silent protest walk during the annual Siler Fall Walk for the children was “very interesting.”

Several parents, faculty, Pregnancy and Parenting Resources Initiative group members, concerned community members and students participated.

As for the petitions, Girvan said that there were several hundred student signatures and more are still coming in daily.

Harry Tripp, vice president of Student Affairs, agreed to take the petitions to the dean and provost who received them. They are both sympathetic, but there are a number of constraints and factors affecting the center and this decision.

PPRI is meeting a week from today at the Eagles Nest in the basement of Ralston to discuss where they can go from here.

“Parent-students are a grueling constituency here at the university,” said Girvan. “Even though they do not deserve special treatment, they do deserve to be represented and their needs considered.”

During the Siler children’s Fall Walk, Girvan, a grandfather of nine, told people he didn’t consider this walk “the last one. It’s just another one.”