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Parent urges Newark Unified to re-examine after-school ELOP fees, cites $364,169.40 fund balance
Summary
A public commenter said district slides omitted a $364,169.40 ending ELOP fund balance and argued that including that sum would reduce the program's reported deficit and lower parent fees from $450 to about $125 per student; a board member asked staff to review the finances.
During the public-comment period Miss Parks urged the board to re-examine the district's Extended Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) finances, saying a slide presented Oct. 21 showed a $504,000 deficit while earlier unaudited actuals from Sept. 16 included an ending fund balance of $364,169.40 that was not shown.
Miss Parks said the documents she provided to the board contain detailed ELOP accounting and that adding the Sept. 16 ending balance to the 2025–26 allocation would reduce the reported deficit to about $141,000. Based on the figures in the slide and her calculations she said the fee charged at four school sites for non-low-income students — $450 per student — could instead be roughly $125 per student when spread across the nine months and the referenced 125 students.
She called the omission "not trivial," said it affects affordability and equity across Newark schools and urged the board to verify the $364,169.40 ending fund balance, recalculate the program deficit and fee structure, and minimize financial burdens on families who rely on after-school care.
Member Hill asked the superintendent and staff to look into the ELOP situation and explore whether district funds could be used to rebate some after-school costs. The superintendent acknowledged staff would follow up and said staff would provide responses and comparisons where appropriate.
