Child Garden Closing Would Affect Families

Letter to the Editor
Published: March 6, 2008

To the editor,

As a taxpaying citizen and lifelong resident of Orange County, I found it disturbing to learn that the board of supervisors is considering the elimination of The Child Garden in the 2008-2009 budget.

For those of you not familiar with The Child Garden it is one of the only sources of public daycare in Orange County. It currently serves 63 children and has a staff of 15 employees; only five of those are considered full-time and receive benefits.

Private daycare providers are very limited and most of those have a long waiting list. The proposed elimination of The Child Garden will impose a personal hardship on my family. After speaking with numerous parents, I find that many of us will be facing the same problem-limited childcare for our children.

I have personally spoken to three of the five supervisors. In speaking with Zack Burkett (my district supervisor), I found it quite alarming that he would consider the elimination of a program that he admits to knowing nothing about.

The second supervisor that I contacted was Teel Goodwin. After having a conversation with Mr. Goodwin, it appears that he is a supporter of The Child Garden.

Mr. Goodwin assured me that he understood my situation, as he has had children in daycare.

My third contact was with Mrs. Teri Pace.

Mrs. Pace made it very clear during our conversation that she supports the proposed elimination of The Child Garden. She further stated, “Orange County citizens need to learn to do more with less.”

Mr. Burkett and Mrs. Pace both stated that the elimination is due to The Child Garden losing money in the past. With that being said, I would like to ask the board of supervisors to consider the following:

*Would the board be willing to review the budget for The Child Garden to determine if there has been a loss and what steps could be taken to at least determine if other options would work to allow the program to continue? This would allow the children attending The Child Garden to continue having a safe and productive environment.

*Does the board understand that this program is a benefit for our teachers and other county employees? The elimination of this program will have a direct effect on the teachers in this county now and will affect new hires with young families, and will cause teachers to look outside of the county for employment. It is a necessity that we continue to have this benefit to retain highly qualified teachers in our county.

It is my hope that this letter will inform the citizens of Orange County and generate support from parents, grandparents and anyone in our county that understands what the elimination of The Child Garden will mean to many families. I believe at the March 11 board of supervisors meeting the public will have an opportunity to speak on this issue.

Please come out in support of The Child Garden.

Yvonne Dawson
Orange