Parents Mull Ways of Keeping Day Care

Parents upset over the La Habra City School District’s plan to convert Arbolita Child Care Center into an elementary school are forming a group to address their concerns.

The parents group is being established because those who have children enrolled in the center’s preschool and day-care sessions said they want to provide the district with some plan that may save the programs.

Meanwhile, the district has given Arbolita’s 30 employees and its pupils’ parents 18 months to find other jobs and make other day-care arrangements.

District officials said implementing class-size reductions for primary grades has created a shortage of classroom space on school campuses that already are overcrowded. Rather than spend money that the district doesn’t have to buy more portable classrooms, officials said they are converting Arbolita into a full-fledged school.

Arbolita teachers and parents last week urged school board members to reconsider. Teachers said they would be willing to share classrooms, and parents said the services are badly needed.

“We have the will. Won’t you help us find a way to save Arbolita?” parent Kim Miller said.

Trustees said the parents group and another new committee will look into the possibility of offering child care elsewhere in the district. But funds are short, and unless the state provides more money, keeping the services may be impossible, Supt. Richard Hermann said.

“Logistically, it’s just not feasible,” Hermann said of keeping the services at Arbolita.

The district has offered parents help in finding other child-care facilities and free busing services. But parents say that nearby facilities are full.