Since it came under new management in July, EC’s Child Development Center has worked to remedy the chronic issues causing it to run at a deficit, employees said.

The CDC faced a proposal for closure last January which was struck down by the board of trustees in favor of a plan to revitalize enrollment and more fully integrate the center into the child development curriculum.

“Before I started, the biggest problem would have been enrollment,” Jennifer Montgomery, interim program director at the CDC, said. “When you look at all the issues, whether it be the budget, the program itself, whatever the problem was, the root of it is that we need more families.”

Montgomery is confident that efforts undertaken to boost the center’s profile are indeed working.

“We’re getting phone calls and visits almost on a daily basis,” she said. “We have, since I started, tripled our student population. Whatever we’re doing to reach out to the students seems to be working.”

On top of advertising for visibility, Montgomery has made it a point to improve accessibility as well. To that end, the center works with local agencies like Connections for Children and CalWORKs.

“We established a contract with Connections for Children, which is our local resource and referral agency,” Montgomery said. “They help low-income families pay for child care.”

“I’ve been working with our CalWORKs department here on campus,” she added. “Students are now finding out, not only that we’re here, but that we’re accepting these programs.”

Jessica Simundson, 24, child development major, works at the center and benefits from CalWORKs. She anticipates that the inclusion of these agencies will mean positive things for her workplace.

“Had they not had CalWORKs, my son wouldn’t have been able to come here,” Simundson said. “A lot of the moms at school right now can’t afford to pay for child care. There were parents who knew about [the center,] but the cost stopped them.”

On top of upward trends in enrollment, Montgomery’s involvement is interpreted by some as a positive step toward more closely integrating the center with the school’s child development program.

“EC has a fantastic child development department. They teach theory and we are congruent with that theory,” Toni Newman, teacher at the center, said. “Ms. Montgomery coming over here has completely helped. The bridge that we lacked in the past is connected now.”

“You can’t just send [practicum students] out to another location because the philosophy of the campus might be different,” she added. “Without this center, I can’t see the child development program being as strong as it is today.”

Despite positive inroads into fixing the center’s flaws, critics point out that it has not yet developed into a financially viable program.

According to the Sept. 3 academic senate meeting agenda, the district is projected to transfer $257,750 into the child development fund this year in order to keep the center fiscally sound.

To some, the necessity of that amount is difficult to comprehend, let alone support.

“I pay $600 [a semester] in tuition,” Jennifer Kyeong, 18, business major, said. “You could help more than 400 students who really need it, go to school.”

When asked what enrollment would have to look like to offset the center’s operating cost, Montgomery admits she is uncertain what it would take.

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to give you that number,” she said. “I understand that there’s a deficit and I understand that the school has been subsidizing the center. I don’t know that there’s a magic number that would make a significant difference.”

Still, Montgomery maintains that the value provided by the center goes beyond an accountant’s balance.

“I want other board members and administration to come here because I feel like you need the human aspect,” she said. “I need you here to see the kids, the families. We’ve talked so much about numbers and there’s no humanity in that.”