Dear Menlo Park City Council,
I am the parent of a child enrolled in Menlo Children’s Center’s (MCC) Preschool class. MCC has been essential in providing my child with a safe and nurturing environment to continue to develop during the pandemic.
As the state of California lifts most of its COVID-19 restrictions and many of the city’s services reopen, we encourage the City Council to consider the following:
1. Reinstating pre-COVID-19 hours of operation for MCC. Prior to the pandemic, MCC’s hours of operation were 8am to 6pm. The hours were reduced from 8am to a latest time of 5pm during the pandemic to stagger pick-ups (to ensure social distancing) and allow for additional sanitation after hours. As many companies require employees to return to a physical place of work, MCC should also reinstate its original hours of operations to provide time for parents who need to commute to pick-up their children.
1. Adjust tuition to pre-COVID-19 levels. In an effort to keep staff and children safe, the City Council voted to reduce all MCC class sizes by 50% and increase tuition by $500 to cover the cost of the reduced class size during the pandemic (see minutes from the City Council Meeting 06/09/2020_06092020-3452 (menlopark.org)). At that meeting, the City Council noted that the increase was temporary for as long as ratio restrictions were in place. This was confirmed in writing by city staff in Library and Community Services. As ratio restrictions are no longer in place at MCC. I encourage the City Council to adjust tuition to pre-COVID-19 levels to ensure that childcare services continue to be affordable.
I appreciate the City Council’s consideration of the above.
Sincerely,
Flora Van
7/15/21
