Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Children in Saratoga Union School District's day-care program play a bingo game at Foothill School.

New facilities planned for Union School District's day-care program

Enrollment increases make new buildings essential

By Tim Persyn

With its decaying buildings and a sharp increase in enrollment, the Saratoga Union School District's day-care program, run by the Los Gatos-Saratoga Community Education and Recreation Department, is in need of new facilities.

But relief is in sight as school and recreation department officials plan for the construction of new day-care buildings.

The day-care program is run through a joint powers agreement involving the recreation department and the district. Day-care sites are located in facilities on the district's three elementary school campuses. Recreation department workers are not employed by the district.

In the partnership, the recreation department uses district facilities and utilities but pays its own insurance. The day-care program is supported by fees and does not receive funding from the district.

There is no cap put on the number of students accepted into the program, which runs during the school year from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Parents who use the program range from working moms to those who want a safe place for their children to play after school.

The total cost of three new facilities for the program will be approximately $600,000, said Bob Best, director of the recreation department. At a recent meeting, the Saratoga school board passed a motion to cosign a loan pending the board's review of the contract. "There is definitely a need to increase space for day care," said Mary Gardner, district superintendent.

Currently, Foothill and Argonaut schools are the top two priorities for new facilities, said Best. He added that he hopes the new accommodations at Foothill will be completed by the end of this calendar year.

"Foothill is our crisis school," said Janet Sumpter, supervisor for the recreation department.

In the past year, the Foothill program has seen a 26 percent rise in hours logged by students, for a total increase of 10,000 hours.

"We can't accommodate the students we need to with the present site," said Best.

The increase in hours compounds the fact that the day-care facilities at each of the three elementary schools in the district are located in old portable structures.

The day-care program has been surviving by sharing facilities with the schools, in addition to using the portables. For instance, the program has had access to the computer rooms, libraries and cafeterias at the schools.

At Foothill, the new facility would provide an increase of 1,000 square feet, from about 1,400 to 2,400, said Best. Susan Sporleder, the school's day care director, said, "I think our needs will definitely be met by the new portable."

At Foothill, some of the the highlights of the day-care program include snacks and the new playground. Perhaps the kids in the day-care program recognize more than anyone the need for new facilities. "It's getting crowded," one of them said on a recent afternoon before running off into the grass.