District’s decision is in students’ best interest

Shutting down a program that serves children is always distressing.

But sometimes it can be right decision.

This week, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District announced that

it will shut down the preschool program at Newport Harbor High School

in January. The program, which has been in operation for 25 years,

uses high school students to care for the children. It does provide

invaluable experience to those high school students, but it was also

using valuable dollars that are meant for the children in the

district.

The program was meant to be funded by the tuition parents pay but

has been unable to support itself. The district, therefore, has been

footing the bill for the program for years.

District spokeswoman Jane Garland, properly pointed out that it is

not the district’s job to run private day care programs. It may seem

heartless, but the school district’s first priority must be to

students in its kindergarten through the 12th-grade classes. The

closure will not affect the high school students’ hands-on learning

experience since they will be sent to other preschools in

Newport-Mesa to work with children.

District officials warned parents in August that the school would

have to meet the same standards as state-funded preschools. But the

enrollment quota has not been met, and the part-time class lacks a

teacher with the proper state-required credentials.

Making it a properly credentialed, quality part-time program would

take more money and effort from the district, which should be

worrying about its principle responsibility -- school-age children

who attend its schools. Those students must be its first priority and

parents should be glad the district has clearly demonstrated that.

Garland also said the district will work with the parents of the

preschool children to find an alternative. It is an unfortunate

circumstance for them, but one that in the long run was the right

decision on the part of the district.