Politics & Government
Parents Start Online Petition to Save Child Care Program
Newark parents are making an effort to save the city’s Preschool Child Care Program.
City officials announced the 24-year-old program’s closure on May 31.
Recreation and Community Services Director David Zehnder cited limited funds from the city, dwindling revenues, lower enrollment numbers and increased competition from other service providers as reasons for shutting down the program.
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Parents, stunned by the news, have quickly joined together in protest.
Community members recently created an online petition via change.org asking city leaders to establish a temporary injunction so that they can help come up with solutions to keep the program alive.
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As of 6:30 p.m. Monday, 36 people had signed the virtual petition.
Supporters say the city’s program provided high quality, low cost child care unmatched by others in the area.
Parents were also upset about the short notice from the city and say the closure could have been prevented if the funding issues were more transparent.
From the petition:
- The City of Newark, California provided less than one (1) month notice of the closure leaving parents with little time to find suitable alternatives for child care (30+ families impacted).
- No public hearing to discuss proposed closure of Newark Pre-School Program to allow for public input.
- No advance notice of problems faced by Newark Pre-School Program (i.e., enrollment, budget shortfall) to allow parents to propose solutions get program on back on track.
- The City of Newark, California did little to effectively advertise the Newark Pre-School Program.
The full petition can be found here.
Community members are also planning to speak at this Thursday’s City Council meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. at 37101 Newark Blvd.
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