OJAI : Council Approves Child-Care Program

An audience of dozens of parents cheered loudly after the Ojai City Council approved participating in a joint program with the local school district that would provide before- and after-school child care to needy children.

The plan, approved by council members sitting as the Redevelopment Agency, would offer day care to up to 35 schoolchildren inside a portable classroom that would be located on the Topa Topa Elementary School campus.

Under the agreement approved by the City Council late Tuesday, the city would use up to $28,000 in redevelopment funds to help get the project started.

The school district would provide the space for the classroom for $550 a month, but the operation of the facility would be administered by a local nonprofit group called Smart Start.

Speaker after speaker urged the council to approve the joint operating agreement, which had come under fire at previous public meetings.

No one spoke against the plan Tuesday night. But some day-care providers and others argued at earlier discussions that public agencies should not be supporting private agencies.

“We want to create a relaxed, trusting atmosphere,” said Dana Huffman of Smart Start. “We want to provide affordable care during those times when children are not at school.”

Child care would cost between $175 and $223 a month under the plan submitted by Huffman.