A proposal to close day care programs at four Sacramento City Unified schools and to replace after-school programs at 18 others has been postponed. Parents are worried and confused.
Staff with some of the START after-school programs are telling parents their free after-school program could be forced to close.
Letica Corona's children go to one of the START schools and she's worried.
"I have four kids and I'm a single parent working. And, if it's gone, how am I gonna do it? Is very expensive. And that place is very safe, plus my kids learning a lot."
The Sacramento City Unified School District says, if the START programs close, they'll be replaced by similar after-school programs.
However, the Fourth R daycare program is on the chopping block at four schools: Golden Empire, Erlewine, Bancroft, and Wenzel.
The Parks and Recreation Department recommends cutting the programs because the schools have the "lowest fiscal performance."
Parents with children in the program pay on a sliding scale based on what they can afford.
The City Council was scheduled to vote on the cuts last night, but postponed its decision two weeks. Councilman Rick Jennings hopes that is enough time to find a solution.
"There potentially could be other partners that could come in and maybe do some of that work. But, our goal is to not close any of them based on where they're located and the populations that they serve."
The 14 other Fourth R sites are not at risk.
The Parks and Recreation Department says increased wages and benefits will contribute to a $1.5 million deficit next year without the proposed changes.
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