To our amazing Pacifica and neighboring communities, 

We need to STOP The Pacifica Boys & Girls Club from being closed down. 

This is URGENT - We have ONE week to prevent the B & G club board from signing documents, that would lead to closure in the Fall.  

The CEO David Hartman and the Pacifica Board have kept this information from the community, we only just discovered this plan on Monday morning (4/11) by happenstance, when a memo was sent out to a few select families of the B & G club. 

The CEO and Board's tactics have been completely unethical, and they are refusing to respond to the communities letters and phone calls.  

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION, TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD, AND HELP US STOP THE CLOSURE OF THIS PRECIOUS CLUB.  

JOIN US!!! PARENT MEETING - BOYS & GIRLS CLUB  - FRIDAY APRIL 15TH AT 6:30PM

We are holding a parent meeting at the Boys & Girls Club tomorrow, Friday April 15th, 2022 at 6:30pm. We have active interest from the media who will be covering our story.  

The clubhouse will provide the space, and the art room will be open for the kiddos. There will be food and drinks provided. We can get the latest info from the club staff, and then plan next steps and form a rally cry.

Please SHARE THIS WIDELY, and join us if you can, we have ONE WEEK left before they sign the papers. If the Board signs the papers, our precious club will be closed in the Fall.

The CEO and Board Members will NOT be joining us, they have avoided all response and contact with parents and the community since Monday night.

Below are two letters that have been written to provide some background, and thank you everyone for your support!!

In Solidarity, 

The families of the Pacifica Boys & Girls Club and the Pacifica Community 

 

LETTER ONE:

To: dhartman@theclubs.org kbusch@srgnc.com renac@dpr.com eddiefloresssf@gmail.com bruce_wright4477@comcast.net Cc: rmadrid@theclubs.org peter@bgcp.org jenny@bgcp.org mbeir@pacifica.gov tbigstyck@pacifica.gov svaterlaus@pacifica.gov sbeckmeyer@pacifica.gov moneill@pacifica.gov woodhousek@ci.pacifica.ca.us perezm@ci.pacifica.ca.us abbottc@ci.pacifica.ca.us lussonn@ci.pacifica.ca.us heywoodj@ci.pacifica.ca.us kelloggk@ci.pacifica.ca.us nicolaric@ci.pacifica.ca.us shoemakerg@ci.pacifica.ca.us kdoggett@pacificasd.org lbrocchini@pacificasd.org lvillalobos@pacificasd.org npatel@pacificasd.org ebredall@pacificasd.org holsen@pacificasd.org dhorsley@smcgov.org hewitterin@yahoo.com Larissa Meneses Kellie Samson kventuri@theclubs.org

Wed, Apr 13 at 1:39 PM

To: David Hartman, Interim CEO Boys and Club of North San Mateo County Ken Busch, Chair of the Board Rena Crittendon, Member of the Integration Subcommittee Eddie Flores, Member of the Integration Subcommittee Bruce Wright, Member of the Integration Subcommittee Mr. Hartman, and Honorable Members of the Board-

I am writing in response to information I have received about the potential closure of the Boys and Girls Clubs (Clubs) in Pacifica. Prior to going into reasons why I think this is a disservice to the community, I first wanted to address how this issue was communicated to parents and the community.

I first heard about this on Monday April 11th, from a friend who sent me a screenshot of a Facebook message. Of course, panic ensued- was this real information? Friends emailed the Director, who received an email response from Mr. Martin with information about a meeting at the Club on Tuesday.

The email was forwarded to me, but originally it was just sent to a select group of families. Later that evening, I received a screenshot of a message sent by you, stating the meeting on Tuesday was cancelled, no decision was made and information we had received previously was incorrect. As I am sure you can tell, this has not been a transparent process and has left our community stunned, confused and without clarifying information about the future of the Clubs.

I have heard through the grapevine various reasons for the potential closure. I’m not sure what is fact vs. gossip so I wanted to provide you some information about our community and what this closure would mean to us.

I gathered the following data from the 2020 Census. Pacifica has 38,640 people, 69% of our population is in the civilian workforce and 65.6% are female. This indicates what I know as a long-term resident, most families are two- parent working households. In our community, 19.2% of people are under 18 years old, and 5.8% are under 5 years old indicating there is a need for childcare now and in the future. Pacifica has less than 3000 employment firms in our City, and the average travel time to work is 31 minutes, indicating that our working families commute outside of our City for employment.

The average household income in Pacifica is $130,466. To qualify for low-income housing in San Mateo County, a family of four can earn up to $92,000 a year. Most families are one entry-level job away from qualifying for low-income housing. We are a city that is 12.66 miles, intersected by Highway 1 which travels North to South. Neighborhoods are clustered in a linear fashion along the highway. Schools are lottery based, so a child who lives near the Daly City/Pacifica border can be selected to go to school at the other end of town.

There have been several school closures since I attended middle school here so not every neighborhood has a school close by. Other factors I think should be relevant to your decision: Pacifica already has HUGE gaps in services for our youth. The only other after school program is through the City, and is on campus at some schools. These programs are mostly geared toward younger children because they are available right on campus.

It has always been part of the unspoken “plan” that once the kids are older, parents transition them to the Club. This is what I did- I made the decision to give up my spots at after school care because my kids are a bit older and felt they could handle being “off campus”, and I wanted to give younger families the opportunity because current after school programs have long waitlists.

The Club serves as an after school program for kids who are not quite old enough to stay home by themselves. Factoring in the school lottery system, more kids will be taking advantage of the public transportation system, which may also have to make adjustments to routes and timing.

Furthermore, our educators are already some of the lowest paid in the area. Pacifica teachers go above and beyond for their students. Our administrators and support staff do the same. City staff, recreation leaders, childcare staff all work harder for our kids in older facilities with lower compensation than surrounding areas. Many have been doing this for a long time, we’ve come to know them and they know us. This would be an additional challenge for them to resolve with little to no time to plan, budget or hire staff.

After coming out of the COVID pandemic, is this really fair to do to them after all they have done to keep our kids safe? Not to mention the staff at the Clubs who always support our kids, staying open throughout the pandemic to care for our kids.

Lastly, I wanted to address some information I heard about possibly allowing our kids to go to Club in Half Moon Bay or Daly City. Pacifica is fairly isolated from the Peninsula. Isolation has its impact- it’s harder to send our kids to the neighboring cities for support services. We are not considered part of the “Coastside” and are far from other Peninsula cities. We have limited resources and opportunities for our children.

Unlike areas that you have designated as an area with more need, Pacifica does not receive extra resources from community groups, county leaders or big business. We do not have Facebook, Google, or other large companies clamoring to sponsor after school programs and other resources. We have the Boys and Girls Club.

To close the Club would be a disservice to the kids and the community and would add pressure to a City which is already experiencing a gap in services. We were told this isn’t an issue with lack of funding, so why create a problem that isn’t there? I ask that you please speak to the parents in our community who this would impact and listen to our concerns before closing the Clubs.

We are an excellent group of problem solvers who are willing to work together to do what is right for our kids and our community.

Sincerely, A concerned parent of the Boys and Girls Club and Pacifica citizen

CC: Pacifica City Council Kevin Woodhouse, Pacifica City Manager Michael Perez, Pacifica Parks, Beaches and Recreation Director Pacifica Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission Pacifica School District, Board of Directors Heather Olson, Ed.D, Pacifica School Superintendent David Hartman, Interim CEO of North County Boys and Girls Club Peter Frotenbaugh, Co-CEO Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula Jenny Obiaya, Co-CEO Boy and Girls Club of the Peninsula Rolando Madrid, Senior Director of Programs, North County Don Horsley, President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, District 3 Rep.

 

LETTER TWO

To Mr. Hartman, CEO and the Board Members of the Pacifica Boys & Girls Club,

UPDATE: PACIFICA BOYS & GIRLS CLUB POSSIBLE CLOSURE

This letter is in response to the communication Mr. Hartman sent last night (Monday, April 11th) regarding the possible closure of the Yosemite Clubhouse in Pacifica.

For background, yesterday morning, only a select few families from the Boys & Girls club were sent an email stating that the clubhouse was being considered for closure, and that any future planning for the Fall program was now ceased.

This was the FIRST time our families had heard of any talk about closing down the clubhouse. As we all witnessed in just one day, there has been an overwhelming response in the community of alarm, concern and downright anger that this clubhouse is being considered for closure.

The response from Mr. Hartman leaves us wanting for many more answers, and it actually opens up a plethora of additional questions that we have.

Can you please inform the community why ALL families weren’t alerted to this news? It appears that this information was to remain quiet with NO input from our families and community that currently attend and cherish this club. Not to mention the 62 year service history, of which thousands of families have benefitted from, and enriched our community.

Also very important to note, there was a meeting planned at the club for the next day, (which would be today April 12th)for the community to discuss it with the Board, but that meeting was suddenly cancelled, with no explanation.

The families of the Boys & Girls club, and the community are prepared to fight the closure of this clubhouse.

We also would like clarification on many of the comments in Mr. Hartman’s letter:

1) Mr. Hartman, can you please clarify and explain what “alternatives” you are talking about? Why is that even on the table, and what does a “smooth transition” mean?

2) Mr. Hartman, you indicated that now you would like all communication to go through you. I received zero response from my outreach to the board members. It is painfully obvious that the Board members are now appearing to completely avoid responsibility for a major decision that will negatively impact our community in such a devastating way.

3) Why is the community JUST finding out now that a closure is even being considered, when there seems to have been many previous discussions that have been held with the staff and board members. Why are families being kept in the dark?

4) Why hasn’t the Pacifica community at large been notified of this possible closure? Why are we not being asked to participate in a community meeting where we can voice our concerns and objections?

5) The ONLY metric being used as a justification for this possible closure is that not enough children are receiving free lunch in our town. As I’m sure you are aware, for the past 2 years during the pandemic, ALL children are receiving free lunch, and continue to do so. So what numbers are you looking at? Using this metric as an excuse to close our entire clubhouse, destroying a crucial lifeline to our Pacifica community and families, is absolutely egregious.

6) What is the Peninsula’s Boys & Girls Club role in all of this? We were told that Peter from the Peninsula Club talked with the staff at Yosemite about possible closure, yet, now those conversations are being omitted. Again, why are we being left out of those discussions?

The decision to even consider closing the Pacifica clubhouse is clearly being made with an agenda for which we are not aware, and with absolutely NO long-term planning in mind. We are talking about removing a critical safety net for our community, the damage would be unmeasurable.

We demand to be included in these discussions, where we can meet as a community, to share our voices and concerns, and show the board members who are making this decision, what is right and just for our families.

We will fight for our Pacifica Boys and Girls Club. This is such a special place that should NOT be taken away from our children, or our community. I look forward to your response.

Thank you, Erin Pickett