Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I empathize- I'm a parent living in Philadelphia and my daycare has closed a ton this season, while I still have to work (I'm in a field that cannot close for any reason- I supervise "essential personnel"). I get that I'm paying for a spot- not that I'm thrilled about it.
The only time I was really annoyed and felt that I deserved some sort of refund was when Sandy hit and the daycare was closed for a week and a half for power outages. That's a long time to be closed and we were struggling to find care, and I was even more annoyed when I found out the teachers didn't get paid for that time. 
In your situation I think it would be beneficial for you to find a center that is open 52 weeks a year and does not close unexpectedly for any reason. Even if your current daycare doesn't charge it doesn't sound like you don't have a significant other, family, friends, or any type of back-up care whatsoever. In my area, all of the centers close for snow days, but maybe you would be able to find one.
As far as the Sandy situation goes... that is beyond ridiculous! If your daycare was going to charge you for all of that time (IMO they should not have) then the staff should have at least been paid! Sorry you had to deal with not only Sandy, but that daycare also.