LA Times Article on OCC Children's Center Cuts and Snapshot of The Numbers
- Children's Center Parent
- Mar 2
- 3 min read
We've made amazing head way in just a week's time and many parents and community members are working tirelessly to avoid the proposed reduction in services of the Children’s Center.
Please check out the article in the LA Times that was published about the center.
Here is a snapshot of where the program currently stands and what is being proposed for the center:
There are 104 students enrolled at the Children's Center
20 children - student-parents (19%)
17 children - OCC employee parents (16%)
67 children - community parents (64%) (those not directly related to OCC at the current time. However, the majority of this group of parents are OCC alumni or have ties to the university tangentially)
The majority of the student-parents receive some sort of tuition subsidies, so OCC parents and community parents bring in the majority of income for the center.
The center has the capacity to service 130 students/day (and upwards of 180, accounting for some students that are at the center part-time).
Currently, there are two classrooms sitting empty since COVID shutdowns that have the ability accommodate 48 more full-time preschool students.
To support these classrooms, the center would need to hire four more full-time teachers to maintain teacher to student ratios (1 teacher: 12 students).
The OCC administration have stopped efforts to enroll the two open classrooms that have been shut down since COVID and have issued hiring freezes for the center.
The OCC administration's proposal is to shrink the program to 2 classes of 24 students, cutting out the Infant, Toddler, and Pre-K programs, only serving enrollees ages approximately 2-4yo. This is a nearly 60% reduction in services. Stay with me...
With the reduction in students, the board is proposing that the majority (if not all) of students that the center services will be student-parents and OCC employee parents. While this is a FANTASTIC idea in theory, this is not financially sustainable, as the community parents float the majority of income for the center. This proposed reduction in services will drive an even larger deficit.
OCC representatives are citing between a $500-630k deficit annually at the student center. We have repeatedly asked for more detailed financial information and they have yet to provide that data to us so we can see where they are getting these figures. This is public information so should be something readily available, however we have not yet received it. Instead, they have referred us to the generic budgets online that are intentionally kept extremely vague. The adopted budgets they are referring to do nothing to support the figures they are quoting as deficits.
OCC is proposing that they will help students displaced by the downsizing of the center to find alternative childcare options. However, parents are left looking at years' long waitlists and non-refundable enrollment fees with only 4 months to settle on alternative childcare options.
Currently, the Children’s Center services 80-90 ECE (Early Childhood Education) fieldwork students annually. These students complete over 1000 hours of coursework each semester within the center. With the downsizing, the center could max accommodate 20-30 students.
One of our biggest pain points as we have navigated this is the blatant lack of effort to engage the community the college claims to serve, to come up with feasible solutions. We are asking for transparency on how we got here and where we are going. That doesn’t seem like such a big ask when thinking about our children and their futures. We would love if you would continue to join us in our efforts by spreading the petition, writing emails, and attending the CCCD Meeting on March 5, 2025. A follow up special meeting of the board has been called on Monday March 10, 2025. More details and reminders about these meeting will be coming.
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