Jul 2, 2009 6:47 pm US/Eastern
Disadvantaged Kids Shut Out Of Free School Program
HOMESTEAD (CBS4) ―
-
-
These parents are upset that a political fight is shutting their children out of free schooling that was once readily available to them.
CBS
While a small group of kids listens to Judy Blume's stories in their air- conditioned summer school classroom in Homestead, another group of kids is baking in the sun while their parents protest. Their summer school program, run by Miami-Dade Schools and paid for by the federal government, has been shut down and forced off the property by the Homestead Housing Authority.
"A lot of people are gonna suffer," former student and current parent Gilbert Rosales worried.
Parents showed up for summer school at the Redlands Labor Camp and the South Dade Center in Homestead to find the property padlocked and the lease cancelled.
The programs at the center serve hundreds of children whose parents can't afford daycare.
Rosales explained, "Most people here pick tomatoes, what do you get out of picking tomatoes - $50 a day? That's not enough to feed a family for a week."
Homestead Housing Authority Director Ed Carrera said he closed the program down because Miami-Dade Schools will not join a new group he created, which would put him in charge. Only the School Board can run school programs.
"(The School District) refused to work with the Housing Authority. They wanted to work independently," said Carrera.
He says any kids who rely on the Dade Schools program will be welcomed into this Housing Authority's summer school. But parents and former students worry they can't afford that new program and they're not sure it will last.
Most of all, these parents don't understand why a children's program that costs the Housing Authority nothing to run has been cancelled.
Tirso Moreno of the Farm Workers Association of Florida says, "Funding is there from Dade County Schools! Why not leave it there?"
CBS4 Reporter Natalia Zea asked Carrera, "Why not give them an exception because it is indeed an extra program that you're not paying for?"
Carrera responded, "Because it's more important to have the Provider's Network, and to have this unified group of people working with the community."
The parents disagree and hope their children will be back in the classroom soon.
Both Carrera and the Miami-Dade School District are considering legal action over this issue. The District may temporarily move the program to a nearby school so the kids have somewhere to go.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Double Homicide In NW Miami-Dade
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
