How much would you pay for your child’s art?

That’s the question one Australian kindergarten posed to dozens of families this week when it asked them to stump up A$2,200 (£1,000; $1,400) for the pleasure of taking home a curated portfolio of their child’s artwork.

The folders included many a random blob and splodge, alongside happy snaps of the would-be Picassos making creations only a parent could love.

Billed as a fundraiser, the debt-ridden centre said the money from the portfolios would go towards whittling down a long list of overdue bills, including unpaid wages for educators.

Craigslea Community Kindergarten and Preschool in Brisbane closed last month after funding was halted amid an investigation into claims about its governance.

Its obscure request, however, has sparked anger in Queensland, with the state’s leader calling it “emotional blackmail”, regulators staging an intervention, and one parent allegedly going to extreme lengths to take back their child’s collection of artworks in the middle of the night.

The controversy has been months in the making – tensions between management and parents at the kindergarten centre, about half an hour north of Brisbane, have been steadily brewing this year.

It’s a community-run centre affiliated with one of the state’s largest childcare providers, the Creche and Kindergarten Association (C&K). While the latter helps distribute government funding, the day-to-day operations of the centre were controlled by a volunteer committee, made up of parents and community members.

That committee was gutted last month when a dispute led to the mass resignation of its president, vice-president and secretary, leaving its treasurer Thomas D’Souza to take over the helm, according to the Brisbane Times.

The new management fired existing staff and hired temporary workers, leading many parents to remove their kids from the centre, their report said.

Parents lodged complaints about Mr D’Souza being the sole committee member, something he denied, prompting C&K to pause funding as authorities investigated the way the centre was being run.

On Sunday night, the inboxes of the families with children at the kindergarten pinged with an email from management wanting to address a “tumultuous” few weeks.

“It is our turn to talk,” the email said, according to the A Current Affair programme on the Nine network.

The lengthy missive said the centre couldn’t pay its debts and had entered voluntary administration.

Hours later, another message landed, revealing a plan to sell the children’s art portfolios for thousands a pop, and asking any parents opposed to that to email back.

The request left Brooke, one of the parents at the centre, speechless.

“It’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I don’t even really have words for it,” she told A Current Affair.

She added that when she decided to take the artwork without paying, the centre reported her to police.

Though it is unclear whether they are referencing the same incident, Queensland Police told the BBC it had received reports of an alleged midnight break-and-enter at the kindergarten about a fortnight ago, and was investigating.

The kindergarten management did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

But the saga has prompted public backlash, with thousands weighing in on social media and the state’s premier blasting the request as “un-Australian” and “wrong on so many levels”.

“I never saw any Picassos come home, that’s for sure. But they mean something to you,” David Crisafulli said of his own kids’ early crafts, on Nine’s Today programme.

“Let’s give the kids their finger painting and let’s get on with life.”

On Wednesday, the Department of Education and C&K said they had launched a successful recovery operation, and had retrieved the children’s collections from the kindergarten.

“C&K recognises the importance of these portfolios and unequivocally condemns any practice that involves charging parents for their children’s portfolios,” a C&K spokeswoman told the BBC in statement.

“These important records are now available for families to collect.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education had earlier said: “Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, parents can request certain documentation pertaining to their child.

“The approved provider must make the documentation available on request.”

For these parents, their children’s art is now both priceless and free.