MOORPARK : City Allocates Funds for Youth Tutoring

Saying that an after-school program called Moorpark Project Pride has helped reduce gang violence and has kept local youths in school, the Moorpark City Council agreed this week to continue to help fund the effort.

The council voted Wednesday night to spend about $16,000 during the next 12 months to help cover the costs of the 2-year-old program.

The money will be pooled with an additional $32,000 from the local school district and about $5,000 from the nonprofit community group El Concillo del Condado de Ventura.

“The program continues to prove itself,” said Councilman Bernardo Perez.

Annual reports on crime in the city cite the program--as well as stepped-up outreach by sheriff’s deputies--as one of the reasons that youth violence, vandalism and gang activity have declined by as much as 30% in the city since the early 1990s, Perez said.

The program regularly serves an estimated 140 local students, according to a report filed this spring by its coordinator, Alberto Rios.

Rios conducts after-school tutoring and career counseling for youths who may be at risk of dropping out of school, as well as for students on probation or having discipline problems.

Rios’ salary will be paid by the school district this year, and the city’s contribution will go toward hiring an additional part-time tutor. The money also will help pay for dances and excursions for the group.

The program is housed in the activity room of the old Moorpark Memorial High School on Casey Road.