What happened to the YMCA?

What happened to the YMCA?

I just finished reading the article regarding school board elections. I have two children in the Oak Park school system.

Late this summer it was announced that the YMCA was going to put a bungalow at Brookside Elementary and offer its services to our community; this was great news.

To date, the YMCA has been unable to offer its services to the Oak Park community. Only through the graces of its relationship with the LVUSD were Oak Park children able to participate.

Earlier this week the YMCA invited parents to a meeting to bring us up to date on what was happening. So far, no bungalow has been permitted and our children are being driven to Sumac for the YMCA program there. The explanation was less than complete.

It appears the following timetable has occurred:

During the summer the school superintendent approved the YMCA proposal; therefore the YMCA promoted their program. On Oct. 11, a meeting took place between the YMCA, Parks and Recreation and Brookside school to "get acquainted."

What happened?

The YMCA was ready to service our community. They said they had approval. What went wrong? Did the new school principal have a problem? Did the Parks and Recreation people have a problem?

We were told that Brookside was going to be refurbished and that they were waiting for the architect’s plans. This will not happen for two years; meanwhile our community is being deprived of a valuable service.

Our children are being taken out of our community, and we are being deprived of a community resource. The one alternative our children have is a program offered by the Parks and Recreation Department.

The next meeting is scheduled sometime in December. It seems to me that this is far too long of a delay. This issue is important enough that it should be discussed quickly prior to the elections.

In fact, I would appreciate any comments that those candidates running for school board and roles in community leadership might have. My fear is that there is a political quagmire associated with the proposed YMCA plan.

John Bamberger

Oak Park