Employees and parents speak out after Georgetown daycare closes

A Williamson County Daycare has become the center of a controversy after it shut it's doors, leaving many parents without child care.

Creation Station Daycare has been running out of a Georgetown church for years. But many parents arrived this week to find it's been permanently closed. "I have been deeply affected, this could jeopardize my job." Hannah Cox has been taking her 4-year-old daughter to the daycare since she was 18 months old.

Now she, among many other parents are scrambling. "The affordable daycares in Georgetown are full, and the really nice big daycares in town are very expensive and as a single mom, single income, I can't afford that. It's left us in a very difficult place," she said.

Employees said they were taken off guard as well. "We had no idea about it. We were unaware that he was coming in and taking over," said Chelsie Brown a Creative Station teacher.

Pastor Brad Horner took over about a week ago at the Jesus Living Center where the daycare was operating. Brown who's been a teacher there for four years, said that's when changes started happening. She said prior to his arrival, everything was fine. "I was close to every parent, even the kids not in my class. I could talk to the parent, I knew every parent, every parent had no problem dropping their kids off, it was just homey feeling," she said. But after Pastor Horner's arrival, she chose to leave on her own. "After he wouldn't allow my daughters dad to come in and get her, and told me I was stealing, and called the cops on me I left, I couldn't stay there anymore, I couldn't do it," Brown said.

Some parents also decided not to bring their children back. "Confrontations in the parking lot, in front of parents, in front of students at the daycare. We don't know what our children witnessed in the several days that he was in that building with them," said Cox.

Cox also said even if she could, she wouldn't take her daughter back. "There's a daycare that all of our kids have been displaced, the families are massively inconvenienced, but this man, if things were to go back the way there were and the staff was all brought back and the kids were all welcomed back, I don't think I'd send my child there again because now at this point, I am concerned for her safety."

Pastor Horner said he saw violations within the daycare, and gave the employees three days to get in compliance, when they didn't he chose to shut the daycare down permanently. To view his story, you can click here.

The employees said they were never told about the three days, and have always fixed any violations in the past quickly.

FOX 7 has been told multiple parents have filed complaints against Pastor Horner.

We have also been told that there is a state investigation underway, opened by Pastor Horner.