County May Reject Teen Parent Grant

State officials approved a grant Monday that could eventually bring millions of dollars into Ventura County for teen parenting programs, but the money will be turned away unless a divided school board reconsiders a previous vote on the issue.

Citing moral and financial concerns, two conservative members of the county Board of Education last month voted to reject the money, essentially scuttling the grant.

If the county board maintains that stance--turning away an annual grant of $369,344--it would be one of the few times in state history that such money has been turned down, state officials said.

Board members have until late next month to decide whether to accept the money, state officials said.

“I think it’s tragic,” said Kathy Auth, the teen pregnancy teacher at Gateway Community School who wrote the grant request. “It’s sad and it’s politically based.”

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Late last month, board members deadlocked 2 to 2 in a final vote on the grant, which would have expanded a county program to educate teen mothers and help them raise healthy babies.

Board member Ron Matthews--who along with trustee Marty Bates voted against the money--said he may reconsider his stance after discussing it with friends and advisors.

But he said he is still concerned that the program may encourage teens to have children.

“If it’s just a baby-sitting program and they’re not serious about scholastics, then that’s not what this is for,” he said. “When they have carte blanche, it makes it much easier for them to decide they’re going to have a baby to fulfill their life.”

The approval Monday by the child development division of the state Department of Education is only tentative. But the application by the county school’s office received one of the two highest scores in its pool, making it likely that the county will receive the money if the board reverses its decision.

The other top score was for an application submitted by the Ventura Unified School District, which received approval for $140,000 for a start-up program at Pacific High School and El Camino High School, the district’s two alternative high schools.

Advocates of the county program say the state money would be used to expand existing programs for students with children, including child care, child nutrition, career planning and budgeting.

Those expanded programs could break the cycle of teen pregnancy, they say.

“You’re affecting two different generations with this program,” said Charles Weis, the county’s superintendent of schools.

“Teen parents tend to have children who become teen parents, because there’s nothing that intervenes in their life,” he said. “They don’t get a good education and they just repeat the same mistakes.”

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Trudy Arriaga, principal at both Pacific High and El Camino High, said the Ventura school district will use the money on services to prevent dropouts, not encourage motherhood, including child care and parenting education.

Arriaga said that last year students with children were far less likely to stay in school.

“The majority of female students who dropped out were students with babies,” she said.

Matthews said the opinions of constituents, not teen mothers, would most influence his decision.

“I was elected and my constituents are the ones that I’m concerned about,” he said.

Matthews said he is also concerned about what will happen if the state money runs out.

“What if the funding ceases?” he asked. “Then it’s on us to take out of our own budget for this new bureaucracy.”

Barring a change of heart by Matthews or Bates, program supporters say that the Nov. 3 election could be the deciding factor in whether the county eventually accepts the state grant.

Two board members, Bates and Al Rosen, are up for reelection. And an empty seat will be filled shortly after the election.