On August 29 the Menlo Park City Council will revisit its latest controversial plan to privatize city services. This time child care is on the chopping block.
But with the months of time and money wasted on the issue — and a new report stating that outsourcing child care saves practically nothing — it’s time the council stops forcing its privatization agenda on the community and allows children to receive the high-quality care they’re entitled to.
That means keeping the existing, top-notch service as is. It’s best for the children and it’s best for the city.
As Menlo Park residents, our chief concern is making sure our tax dollars are used responsibly. Subsidizing private corporations is not how city dollars should be spent. Instead, we should invest in quality services that make Menlo Park a great place to live.
When the council majority of Mickie Winkler, Lee Duboc and Mayor Nicholas Jellins claimed that city child care was running a $444,000 deficit, they saw a chance to push their agenda by rushing the bidding process for private companies to buy out the service, without thoughtful consideration of what the true costs of child care are.
Now, an article in the August 9 Almanac shows that the monumental savings that privatization would bring were monumentally misleading. The report shows that the city-run child care actually recovers its costs, save for about $4,500 — a far cry from the $444,000 deficit the city manufactured.
This isn’t the first time the city fudged its numbers. Months ago they used a trumped-up $2.9 million deficit to justify cutting city services. The city back-pedaled when that number didn’t pan out, either.
And their privatization agenda isn’t new. In February they irresponsibly handed over the new swimming-pool facility, built with $6.8 million of our public funds, to a private operator — rent-free.
And last year the council tried to force a proposal to convert (much) of beautiful Bayfront Park into a privately owned golf course, with almost no public input. The community, outraged by the lack of public process and the privatization of our public park, successfully beat that proposal.
Enough is enough. The current program has won rave reviews from parents and the community alike because the staff is caring and highly qualified. The teachers and aides have averaged zero turn-over for several years and have a combined 75 years of working experience. Parents even supported raising service fees to keep the doors open amid threatening cutbacks — a sure sign that children are getting the best care.
Privatizing child care and other city services doesn’t make dollars and it doesn’t make sense. If we continue to privatize our great services, what’s next?
We can’t imagine living in a city that contracts out services to companies that care only about making profits — not about the community. These companies are interested only in their bottom line and their own financial interests.
The City Council needs to stop jeopardizing valuable city services and put a halt to needless spending. Let the proven, outstanding and economically sound services like child care stand.
It’s what’s best for the children and the community.
Vic Lovell is a retired psychologist who has lived in Menlo Park for nearly 50 years. Roxie Rorapaugh is a former computer programmer who has lived in Menlo Park for 12 years. They live on Sherman Avenue.
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