Families using the Waldronville Playcentre are worried the land on which their facility is situated will be sold from underneath them if they cannot justify their existence to the Ministry of Education.
Waldronville Playcentre president Vi Cook said she and the Otago Playcentre Association met the ministry last month, and were told the play-centre had to justify its existence if it wanted to remain on its present site.
The centre is in a building at Waldronville School, which was closed in April because of a declining roll.
The ministry was now in the process of disposing of the school grounds and its buildings, she said.
"Because of the closure of the school, the Ministry of Education wants us to prove we are supported by the community and that there is a need for us to be here," Mrs Cook said.
"The ministry needs to know if it's viable to keep our premises separate from the sale of the land," she said.
"They are essentially saying that if we can't show we are a necessary facility in the Waldronville community, they will sell the land from under us.
"The news hasn't been palatable at all."
Mrs Cook said the 30-year-old centre was the only early childhood education centre in Waldronville.
It accommodated a dozen preschoolers at present.
She called for letters of support from the community and people could fill in an online petition.
However, the ideal would be for parents to support the playcentre by sending their preschool children there, she said.
Ministry of Education Otago Southland manager Kathryn Palmer said discussions with Waldronville Playcentre had been to encourage its representatives to consult the community and provide local knowledge which the ministry might not have.
It was part of the ministry's investigation into the community's early childhood education needs, she said.
"At the meeting, all parties discussed opportunities to increase the roll, such as profiling the play-centre to the wider community in order to provide more sessions each week.
"Currently, the playcentre is operating two sessions a week."
The Otago Playcentre Association had indicated it would like time to consult the local community and the Waldronville Playcentre was interested in carrying out a survey and gathering local information.
"No decision about the future of the playcentre has been made, as yet," Ms Palmer said.
