photo by: Dmitry Martirosov/Journal-World

People listen during a break out session for Hilltop parents, teachers and staff at First Baptist Church in Lawrence on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.

The sense of community was strong Tuesday evening inside First Baptist Church in Lawrence, where about three dozen people gathered to brainstorm ideas and address one pressing issue: the looming closure of Hilltop Child Development Center.

Hilltop, a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Kansas and one of the largest childcare centers in the city is shutting down at the end of the month. What comes next, however, is less clear.

So on Tuesday evening, Joe Reitz, founder of Family Promise of Lawrence and a longtime community member, brought parents, teachers and childcare advocates together to come up with solutions. The prevailing sense in the room was that anything that could help parents and children navigate what one on Tuesday called “a very complex system” — referring to childcare — is welcome.

Some proposed raising money. Others said available facilities in Lawrence should be renovated and new teachers and administrators hired for a new childcare center.

“I was shocked, stunned and angry,” Reitz said, referring to KU’s announcement last month to close Hilltop. Reitz still struggles to understand the reasoning behind it, he said.

photo by: Dmitry Martirosov/Journal-World

Joe Reitz, founder of Family Promise of Lawrence, listens during a break out session for Hilltop parents, teachers and staff at First Baptist Church in Lawrence on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.

Kyle Roggenkamp, director of Ballard Center, called Hilltop’s decision to close “heartbreaking.” Following the Sept. 22 announcement by Chari Young, Hilltop’s board president, Roggenkamp received 50 calls each day from parents looking for alternatives, he told the Journal-World on Tuesday. The childcare center he runs absorbed several Hilltop families into its care, he said. But with 46 spots, capacity at Ballard is limited.

“This isn’t just childcare,” Roggenkamp said.

Linda McCoy, who taught at Hilltop in the 1970s, encouraged those in attendance to fight the closure. She said Hilltop used to be “a gem” when she was there.

There aren’t hard numbers available to accurately estimate how many Hilltop families are still seeking available slots, and none were discussed on Tuesday. But Roggenkamp and Erin Lawrence, an intervention and inclusion specialist at Community Children’s Center, both indicated that, while challenges persist, the crisis which first enveloped many Hilltop families has likely subsided.

Roggenkamp has been receiving fewer calls from parents than from the time Young announced the closure, he said. Lawrence, who has been doubling down on outreach, has been logging in queries of parents looking for available childcare centers. But in recent weeks, the search among parents has slowed, she said. Other parents the Journal-World has spoken with also indicated that many have found alternatives.

The announcement to close Hilltop, a community staple for more than half a century, has left many parents scrambling. Some were luckier than others, but many faced the inconvenient reality of competing against each other for available slots. Despite criticism from parents and community members over Hilltop’s planned closing, KU leaders have stuck with the decision. Earlier this month KU Chancellor Doug Girod announced that the decision to close Hilltop was final, but that a campus work group would be formed to look at childcare issue.

photo by: Dmitry Martirosov/Journal-World

People listen during a break out session for Hilltop parents, teachers and staff at First Baptist Church in Lawrence on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.

KU officials cited financial constrains as one reason for closure. A review of the nonprofit’s financial documents by the Journal-World last week confirmed that the Hilltop has been losing money for at least two years.

The nonprofit has also been cited for numerous state violations of childcare regulations related to supervision standards and other such issues, and its leader, Cori Berg, has been heavily criticized by parents.

The news of Hilltop’s closure didn’t stay within Lawrence’s city limits on Tuesday — or within the state’s borders, for that matter.

Judy Bencivengo, a University of California, Los Angeles, employee of 38 years, has made the trip to Lawrence last week to attend Tuesday’s meeting. UCLA announced that it is closing its childcare centers next year, and with news of Hilltop’s closure, Bencivengo felt an urge to do something.

On Tuesday, she encouraged attendees to “scream louder” and “fight harder.” She called the decision to close Hilltop “irresponsible for an institution of higher learning” and said she was disappointed at KU.