After-school, other programming at San Mateo rec center at risk
By: Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer
March 29, 2009
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| On the chopping block? Parents pick up their children from a field trip at Shoreview Recreation Center’s after-school program. The center is in danger of being shut down as deep budget cuts loom. (Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt/Special to The Examiner) |
SAN MATEO — Asked what it will mean for his family if the Shoreview Recreation Center shuts down its after-school program due to budget concerns, Ken Buteyn, father of two 10-year-olds, comes up with one word: “Disaster.”
Negotiating daily childcare is already a juggling act for Buteyn and his wife, who both work full time, particularly because their children are on a year-round school schedule. The prospect of having to rework carefully arranged schedules, or finding and paying for an after-school daycare situation, would be daunting.
That’s precisely what the Buteyns and dozens of other families are likely to have to do, however, because the city, facing a sizeable budget shortfall, is looking at ending after-school care and most programming at the recreation center. Located on Ocean View Avenue, Shoreview is the only recreation center east of Highway 101 that provides after-school care in San Mateo.
Shoreview currently provides preschool in the mornings and a “Snack n’ Study” after-school program to about 25 to 30 children per day, according to the Parks and Recreation Department.
Additionally, about 18 classes conducted at the center throughout the year are on the chopping block and the city is also considering putting a stop to renting the center’s facilities to nonprofits and private users for events.
As a result of the $8 million budget shortfall San Mateo is facing for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the Park and Recreation Department has been asked to cut $740,000 from its annual budget.
Although the City Council will give final approval to the cuts, the Parks and Recreation department has suggested Shoreview be targeted for reductions in service because it is the smallest of the city’s recreation centers.
Sheila Canzian, Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of San Mateo, said that the department would work to accommodate every household affected if the shutdown is approved.
That’s little consolation to parents such as Rich Bontrager, whose 7-year-old twin sons go to school at Shoreview Elementary, and then cross the street to the recreation center every day.
Bontrager said his sons are receiving great services in the after-school program, and that the price is within his family’s budget — about $360 a month for both children to attend.
Seniors programs also on block
Programs for seniors, including a van service, holiday lunchtime meals, and a popular travel program are all threatened by to the city’s budget deficit.
Those cuts could be just the tip of the iceberg if San Mateo voters don’t approve a quarter-cent sales tax in November, officials warn.
Without that extra revenue, the vast majority of senior services provided by Parks and Recreation would be eliminated.
As it stands, the city is making its first round of budget cuts to help balance its off-kilter books.
Proposed senior recreation cuts currently total $56,000; that will more than double if voters don’t approve additional revenue, according to Parks and Rec calculations.
Senior centers would remain open but would provide no services. Parks and Rec Director Sheila Canzian said the city would hope for those gaps in services to be filled by nonprofits or private senior-service agencies.
“The city would sort of be getting out of the senior-services business as a provider,” she said. “We’d really become more of a facilitator.”
What’s at stake
San Mateo’s budget woes mean likely cuts to its Parks and Recreation programs
Round 1
- To be implemented starting July 1
- • After-school programs and facility rentals at Shoreview Recreation Center
- • Senior van that provides rides to senior centers and shopping centers
- • Outsourcing of lunchtime meals
- • Senior Tour and Travel program
Round 2
- To be implemented if voters don’t approve a quarter-cent sales tax in November
- • Elimination of all senior programs
- • Joinville Pool schedule change from year-round to seasonal.
Source: San Mateo Parks and Recreation Department
