The Barnehageporten company, which owns two nurseries, was declared bankrupt. As a result, more than 90 children have been left without a daycare since Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Brian Carlsen (39) received an email from the director general of the Lilleborgen kindergarten in Asker.
The subject field read “Barnehageporten Bankruptcy Information”.
In the email, he apologizes for not hearing anything from her earlier.
Furthermore, he writes, among other things, that he does not have much more information to give, besides referring it to a lawyer.
– I read the email in disbelief. It was just shocking, Carlsen, a father of two, tells VG.
He can breathe a sigh of relief that his wife Kelli Carlsen (35) is on maternity leave with her youngest child, so that she can look after her 20-month-old eldest daughter.
But sympathize with the other kindergarten parents who are now in a very difficult situation.
– Many parents have to take a break to be at home with their children. It goes without saying that this is an unsustainable situation in the long run, says Carlsen.
More than 40 children go to kindergarten, and on Tuesday morning they find themselves facing a closed gate.
The messenger he also mentioned the issue.
– Difficult for private nurseries
According to Lilleborgen CEO Janne Cecilie Mathiesen, she too learned of the bankruptcy on Monday afternoon.
– Then it is so, of which none of us was aware, that then the doors close and we are left without a nursery until a solution is found.
However, it is too early to tell what kind of solution.
Mathiesen says the municipality is trying to provide the children with a daycare as quickly as possible.
Mathiesen says he was unaware that a bankruptcy was in progress.
– The indication was that it is politically difficult for private and small nurseries. It is difficult to survive. For those of us who aren’t in a big chain, it’s tough.
He says it was a difficult message to get.
– It was a shock to us, the employees and the parents. This means we won’t be able to see the children on Tuesday. There were tears in the eyes of the employees. It is an unfortunate situation for many parties.
VG has been in contact with Lilleporten owner Ellen Nordang, who did not respond to VG’s inquiries on Monday evening. For Mossy newspaper she confirms the failure, but declined to comment further.
– Not something we could have foreseen
Late Monday, Carlsen received another email, this time from the owner of Lilleporten.
In the email, the owner of Barnehageporten accuses the Moss municipality of showing little political will to gain approval for the further operation of the Andersrød Kindergarten in Moss.
Lilleporten owns two kindergartens, one in Asker and one in Moss. They both have to close the doors.
For Mossy newspaper Director of Culture, Education and Business, Silje Hobbel and Irene Hetmann Landgren (Ap), Head of Education and Education, said they discovered the bankruptcy on Monday evening.
– Now we have found out today too and tomorrow we have to sit down and look at all the possibilities. All the children of Andersrød are entitled to a kindergarten place in the municipality, so we need to find a solution as soon as possible, says Hobbel.
– A real failure in Andersrød was not something we could have foreseen, says Landgren.
