MOUNT Isa's longest running child care centre is pleading for assistance to avoid being shut down after a woman allegedly siphoned a six-figure sum from their coffers.
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The woman was arrested and charged on July 22 with defrauding the Estelle Cardiff Kindergarten of $112,605 after months of investigating by detectives from the Mount Isa District Criminal Investigation Branch.
The swindling of monies became apparent late last year, leaving the centre in a dire financial situation.
Staff were unpaid for months, employee entitlements had vanished, bills were left unpaid and the centre's sandpit wasn't regularly maintained to ensure it was up to operating standards.
Despite the significant financial difficulty placed upon the centre, hard-working staff were determined to ensure it remained operated by Mount Isa locals.
Already the child care situation in Mount Isa was on the brink of breaking point, and the closure of the centre would've left a gaping hole in the child care system.
The centre currently has 44 regular children in its care - and initial enquiries found that centres around Mount Isa could only find room to cater for six of them if the centre closed.
Teacher's assistant Sue Ryder, who has been with the kindergarten for 20 years, said she "nearly had a heart attack" when she found out about the enormity of the alleged theft.
"At one stage it looked like we would close down and at the moment it's still looking shaky," she said of the centre's future.
"It's extremely hard for people to find child care in Mount Isa, everyone is screaming out for positions."
The centre is associated with C & K, and it was originally feared they would step in to operate the centre as one of their branches from their central governing body based in Brisbane.
"It's a part of Mount Isa's history we didn't want to lose," director Narelle Elliot said.
"We didn't want people in Brisbane telling us what to do and how to run the centre."
Now C & K manage the financial side of the business, but the day-to-day operational side is run by the kindergarten committee.
The centre has been operating in Mount Isa for around 50 years.
The committee fought to ensure they kept ownership of the centre, with the Australia Tax Office stepping in to wipe $40,000 of debt to keep the centre from insolvency.
The centre's fundraising coordinator Josslyn Polkinghorne said her son, four-year-old Colton, loved the kindergarten and would be distraught to see the establishment go under.
"It's been a very stressful time," she said.
"For me it's a very special place because my younger brother and sister went here, and I'm hoping my two-year-old daughter Skyla can go here in 2014 when she's old enough."
The kindergarten is still searching for financial assistance to rid them of the debt.
Mount Isa District Northern Region Inspector Paul Biggin praised the work of detectives for their diligent work in apprehending the fraudster.
"It was very good investigative work from the Mount Isa District Criminal Investigation Branch, especially given that fraud can be a difficult and complex crime to investigate," he said.
"The eight month investigation itself took a lot of police resources to fully investigate and have the woman arrested and charged."
The woman will appear in court on August 20.
