Editorial: Ross Valley School District’s decision to sell ultimately right move for children in need

For months, the program that provides affordable child care to more than 100 children has been in limbo, facing a real threat of being evicted and having no other place to move to.

The road to get to the right decision wasn’t pretty, but the Ross Valley School District’s decision to sell the Deer Park School campus will keep a vital child-care program going for years to come.

The school board voted 5-0 to sell the Fairfax property to the newly formed Seiderman Legacy Children’s Fund. The nonprofit will lease the site to the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center, which has used the old school for decades.

The Seiderman Legacy Children’s Fund – named after the late Ethel and Stan Seiderman, who founded the program more than 50 years ago – has agreed to a $2 million purchase price and a promise to make needed safety improvements to the property.

For months, the program that provides affordable child care to more than 100 children has been in limbo, facing a real threat of being evicted and having no other place to move to.

The school board had voted to start eviction proceedings after learning that the school buildings, some more than 70 years old, failed to meet modern safety standards.

A study by the Marin County Office of Education, which once proposed to buy the property and save the program, did little to convince school officials otherwise.

With neither the district nor the child-care center able to afford to make the needed repairs, the district’s lawyer urged the board to evict the center.

What followed was months marked with a lot of political posturing, potshots and sniping.

That level of political dialogue did little to foster solutions.

Understandably, the district faced a dilemma where hosting the program at the old school had become a liability and risk that officials could not ignore.

At the same time, the Ross Valley community had rallied to save the center, which over the years has provided a vital and nurturing service to Ross Valley families or those of the community’s workforce. Both the Marin Community Foundation and the county offered financial help.

In the wake of the school board’s decision to begin eviction proceedings, Trustee Ryan O’Neil and San Geronimo lawyer Andrew Giacomini sat down together, bridging the widening political gap to come up with a solution.

“I’m really proud of our team that we were able to put aside any differences and do what we always thought was right,” O’Neil said. “It’s a great win-win-win.”

The district is selling a community-owned asset for the purpose of serving an important community good.

While the district’s lawyer was focused on enrollment data, it shouldn’t be a factor in justifying the property’s price tag. Where those youngsters go to school does not diminish that their parents and their care are important to the community. The community benefit goes far beyond the district’s attendance rolls.

That broad benefit – which as San Anselmo’s town Racial Equity Committee defined as “child wellbeing, equity and community” – should be reflected in the price.

From the district’s standpoint, it will be receiving much-needed revenue while also unloading a liability, whether the daycare center was there or maintaining a vacant campus.

The coming together of support for the nonprofit needs to be matched with financial support.

Fairfax, for instance, has pledged $25,000 to help with the purchase. The nonprofit is ready to seek private contributions and grants and governmental help.

The fund’s leadership and commitment provides confidence that the center’s future is secure. The nonprofit’s board plans to start work on needed repairs.

Their commitment is a respectful tribute to the long-held vision of the Seidermans who saw a critical community need – affordable child care – and took action to solve it. Mrs. Seiderman, who died in 2016, left a legacy as a formidable advocate for affordable child care in our high-priced communities, recognizing that not every resident or worker is living in a million-dollar house.

The community has come together to do the right thing, especially for the children and the future.