Schools

Echo Park Early Education Center Targeted for Closing

Logan Early Education Center was expected to close for two years for remodelling. But under the Governor's current budget plan, LAUSD would close it completely.

Lawmakers could vote this week on a budget that would cut funding to preschools and daycare centers around the state, including 107 in the Los Angeles Unified School Distrct.

Some 21 of the centers would close completely under the current budget plan.

One of those is in Echo Park, the

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Logan is already supposed to close temporarily, for a two-year repair and remodelling, says Juan De La Cruz, deputy chief of staff for LAUSD District 5 trustee Bennett Kayser.

But according to a document provided to Patch, Logan is also targeted for a permanent shutdown, along with Toland Way Early Education Center in Highland Park and 19 other centers.

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Many in Echo Park are concerned that the closure will leave low-income parents with no public alternative within walking distance. They argue parents will be forced to find a private school and pay, or leave their young children at home with a relative.

Their dilemma certainly underscores the issue that parents with young children around the state will face if the proposed cuts go through.

Another piece of the Governor's budget proposal would shift responsibility for early childhood education away from the State Department of Education to county health departments.

According to Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas's office, this, combined with the budget cuts, could mean a 30 percent reduction in early childcare services affecting up to 10,000 people in the county.

The Legislature has until Friday to approve the Governor's budget. California legislators regularly push budget approval deeply into the summer.

Parents and teachers are traveling to Sacramento to testify before the legislature this week.

The LAUSD board could also vote Tuesday to formally oppose the budget cuts and the reorganization of services.

“Research shows that the first years are the most critical in closing achievement gaps, identifying and minimizing difficulties, and preparing for a lifetime of learning,” Kayser said in a speech Monday at Toland Way in Eagle Rock, adding that cuts in early education also make it harder for parents to do their jobs because they are forced to tend to their children.


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