VENTURA : District Gets Grant for Day-Care Project

The Ventura Unified School District has received a $6,000 state grant to launch a before- and after-school program at Loma Vista School, one of the few elementary schools in the district without day care.

But planning for the Loma Vista program has been delayed until after the Nov. 2 election, when voters will decide the fate of Measure U, an advisory measure to establish year-round education.

School officials need to know whether Loma Vista will be on a traditional or year-round calendar before establishing the day-care program, said Marjory Rose, secretary to district administrative director Arlene Miro.

Loma Vista’s day-care program will be like the after-school care offered at Montalvo School, Rose said. “It’s not just baby-sitting.”

At Montalvo, a state-licensed teacher and aide come to the school every day to supervise 24 children when their regular classes end--11:30 a.m. for kindergartners and 2:30 p.m. for first- through fifth-graders.

Besides helping children with their homework, the teacher has a curriculum in arts, general science and other subjects, Rose said.

The district will charge $175 per month for kindergartners and $125 per month for older children.

So far, Montalvo is the only school where the district runs a day-care program, although school officials contract with child-care companies to provide after-school care at 12 other elementary schools.