Hope Dims for Day-Care Eviction Halt

The superintendent of the city’s elementary school district warned last week that parents of children who attend the Aladdin child-care centers should not expect the district to reverse a decision that requires the centers to move from the former Fulton elementary school.

Supt. Nick Parras said the school board has scheduled a hearing Tuesday on the decision only as a “courtesy” to the parents and staff at Aladdin. “There is no criterion for the rescinding of the board’s decision,” Parras said.

The trustees this month rejected a bid by Aladdin for a seven-year lease at the former school, voting instead to award the lease to Coast Christian School, a private school affiliated with Calvary Church of the Coastlands in Torrance. Aladdin has operated a day-care center at the Fulton school since 1981 and an infant-care center since 1983.

Parras said trustees followed state law in awarding the bid to Coast Christian, which offered to pay $132,000 a year in rent. Aladdin’s bid, which consisted of an $80,000 annual cash payment and an estimated $110,000 in state credits, was “unresponsive” to bid requirements for the site, which specified the district would not accept offers below $130,000, he said.

‘Met All Requirements’

“The successful bidder met all of the requirements and backed it up with a deposit,” he said. “I am afraid if the board tried to rescind this action, they would face legal action from Coast Christian.”

Clara Whiteman, owner of the Aladdin centers, and parents of more than 200 children who attend the centers charged last week that the board made its decision without a clear understanding of the bidding process.