Oak View needs to remain a priority
Of all the community centers in Surf City, the Oak View Community
Center is likely the most vital.
Its visitors are children and teens who are, most often, at less
of an advantage than those who frequent either the Murdy or Edison
community centers.
Yet, it is Oak View’s $140,000 annual funding that was slashed
from the city budget in September -- the duty of running the center
was farmed out to an outside agency.
City leaders in January are expected to finish hashing out a deal
with the Children’s Bureau of Southern California to run the center,
which serves as an after-school haven for the youth of the Oak View
neighborhood.
Sometimes referred to as the “Slater Slums,” this community has
long been troubled by youth gangs and crime. City and school leaders
have focused much attention on this low income area, largely made up
of immigrant families adjusting to a new language and culture, and
there is no reason to stop now.
So it is somewhat troublesome that while the city is prepared to
hand the group a chunk of cash to run the center, at $51,000, it is a
fraction of what is spent there currently.
Although many are grateful that the center has not met the same
fate as the Shipley Nature Center, which was shut down during the
same string of budget sessions, there are those who fear the center
is still in danger of closing.
That is not something that can be allowed to happen. The center
provides a vital service to the children of the neighborhood.
Certainly, the City Council knew this, and that is why it chose to
look for an outside agency to take on the responsibility for the
center.
But as these decisions are made in the coming months, city and
school leaders must continue to pay close attention to this community
and ensure that the children of Huntington Beach are not the ones to
suffer from the city’s budget crunch.
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