City Won’t Pledge Funds for Embattled Youth Program

Students and local Latino activists secured pledges of support from the Moorpark City Council, but no guarantees of future funding for Project Pride, a 2-year-old program that tutors gang members and students on the verge of dropping out of school.

Supporters attended a council meeting Wednesday night to counter a tough staff analysis that said Project Pride “has not fulfilled its original purpose.”

Although council members praised the program’s good work, they rejected 4 to 0 requests to change the report to make it more favorable. They did agree to add supporters’ comments to the packet of information submitted when the program comes up for funding in July.

Councilman Bernardo Perez abstained because he is on the board of directors of the group that operates Project Pride.

Over the last two years, the city has spent about $40,000 and the school district another $8,000 on the program, administered by El Concilio del Condado de Ventura, an Oxnard Latino advocacy group.

Since those funds were exhausted in December, the school district agreed to fund the program until June with an additional $9,000. El Concilio paid about 40% of Project Pride’s overhead the last two years.

Marcos Vargas, El Concilio’s executive director, told council members that he wanted to correct errors in the report, which he thought could jeopardize funding for the next fiscal year.

“The report provided by staff . . . lacked an understanding of our successes,” he said. “We know it is difficult to allocate funds. We appreciate that. We’re working on fund raising and getting new dollars. But frankly a report like this, that’s so negative, hurts us. . . . And excuse me, but I’m upset about it.”

Part of the city staff’s criticism centered on Project Pride’s first year. Numerous personnel changes disrupted its continuity, the report said. It was not until April, 1994, when current director Alberto Rios took over that enrollment started to grow. Rios estimated that he has about 140 students regularly receiving counseling or tutorial service.

Although praising Rios’ efforts the last 10 months, the staff analysis concludes that too few youths are served by the program. The report also questioned Rios’ estimate of teen-agers who are being helped. And because Project Pride is focused on tutoring students, the staff said funding should come from the school district, not the city.

“If the program is going to be geared primarily as a tutorial program, then it may be more appropriate for the district to take over,” said Christine Adams, community services director and author of the report.

But several speakers said that Project Pride was more than just a tutorial service. They said it provided a safe haven where Latino youths can study and socialize. The program was started partly to counter a rash of gang violence in the city, said Gabino Aguirre, principal of Moorpark Community High School.

“We don’t really see many of those problems any more,” he said.

Several students who use the program agreed. Oscar Rocha, 17, said Project Pride changed his life. He said his family moved from Los Angeles because of his involvement with gangs, but when he got to Moorpark he was still filled with hate. He said he was failing school but wanted to change. He just did not know how.

“They took me in,” he said. “I felt needed. They showed me right from wrong.”

Now he is helping with the program.

“I feel like it’s my turn to give back to the community,” he said. “I want to help those people like me that are in gangs and try to get them out. This is a good program. It should continue.”