Politics & Government

Newark Community Center Child Care Program to Shut Down

The more than 20-year-old program will be shut down on June 28.

Updated 11:12 a.m., June 5

A longtime city-sponsored child care program will shut down permanently at the end of the month. 

According to a letter distributed to parents on May 31, the City of Newark Recreation and Community Services Department’s Preschool Child Care Program at the Newark Community Center will end June 28. 

The program has been in place since 1989. 

In the letter, Recreation and Community Services Director David Zehnder noted that the program’s closure stems from three years of budget cuts. 

In 2010, the City of Newark started reducing the amount of money the program received from the City’s general funds. As a result, employee work hours and wages were cut from 40 to 35 hours a week, equipment purchases were deferred, field trips were reduced, weekly fees were raised and marketing efforts were increased, according to Zehnder. 

“Unfortunately, even with these measures in place for the last three years, the Child Care program continues to operate at a significant operational deficit,” Zehnder said in the letter.

“After careful consideration, the City has determined that due to the continued need for General Fund subsidy for this program and the fact that within the City of Newark and surrounding communities there are comparable child care options available to families; we are reluctantly forced to discontinue our program.” 

“This is by far one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make during these challenging economic times,” Zehnder. 

Zehnder later told Patch on Wednesday that declining enrollment and greater competition were also major factors in the City's decision to close the program.

According to Zehnder, the program's enrollment limit is 48. A decade ago, the program would always be at capacity, with up to 30 children on the wait list. But in recent years enrollment has dropped to the low 30s. 

"That makes a huge difference in our ability to cost recover," Zenhder said Wednesday. 

Zehnder estimates that the program has taken a $100,000 hit in the last few years due to the lower enrollment.

He believes the economic downturn in recent years and the increase in quality home day care providers, along with competition from programs like Head Start, have contributed to declining enrollment.

"Back when we opened 20-plus years ago, we were one of the few child care programs in the area," Zehnder s "We aren’t the only game in town any more."

News of the program’s closure came as a shock to parents who came to rely on the City service. 

“There were no warning signs. I didn’t hear anything about any City Council meetings. It happened so abruptly,” said Gerardo Torres, whose 4-year-old daughter has been enrolled in the program for the past several months. 

Torres said the program came highly recommended by family and friends, and was very affordable. 

The state-licensed program provided full-time, all day child care and preschool services for 3 to 5 year olds for only $168 a week for Newark residents and $176 a week for non-locals. The curriculum included kindergarten preparedness, art, science, music and computer activities, along with outdoor playtime in the park. 

The level of care, attention and education was like no other, parents said. 

“It felt like family. You could trust them with your child,” Torres said. 

Shauna Butler shared Torres’ sentiments, adding that it was the best fit for her and her husband’s schedules as they both work full-time. 

“We have had nothing but the best experiences with this school,” Butler told Patch. “The teachers and directors are the most caring people you will ever meet. I always thank them for helping ‘raise our child’ since we are working parents.” 

“My son has never not wanted to go to school. And to top if off, he passed his kindergarten assessment to enroll in Bunker for this upcoming school year, all thanks to this school,” Butler added. 

Parents believe the closure could have been prevented if there was more awareness about the program’s financial issues. 

“Why the lack of advertising ? Why just a banner and a catalog ad? I believe that is the bare minimum of advertising that was done and there was no effort made to keep this school going,” Butler said. 

Parents told Patch that they are trying to organize efforts to see if anything can be done to save the program. Parents plan to speak at an upcoming City Council meeting to voice their concerns. 

But officials told Patch that they've done what they can, advertising the program at city events and in online media outlets such as Patch, and by offering special offers and referral rewards. 

He said the reason many current parents were not aware of the financial issues is because the program has been ongoing, with majority of the cuts implemented in 2010. 

"It’d be hard for somebody in the program to understand that we were going through these difficult times," Zehnder said. "I understand their frustration. In their mind they may not have seen any changes but there have been efforts."

With the local program's closing, the City is advising parents to seek other child care services in the area. 

Parents are advised to contact the Community Child Care Council of Alameda County at the Fremont Resource Center, located at 39155 Liberty St., room D410. The child care council can also be reached at 510-713-2557. 


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