Are South OC’s Boys & Girls Clubs On the Chopping Block?

The aboriginal is unclear for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley arsenic elected officials question its stance connected diverseness and different issues similar outgo and attendance.

Newly-elected Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Anthony Beall has publically accused the city’s subdivision of the Boys & Girls Clubs of indoctrinating children with governmental messaging — as the assembly is slated to see extending their declaration aboriginal this year. 

During a assembly gathering connected Jan. 8, helium claimed the enactment was inappropriately advertizing an online speechmaking database promoting political, diversity-related subjects. The database — which included books similar “White Fragility” and “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide” — has since been removed.

“In my opinion, payer dollars should ne'er beryllium spent to enactment governmental advocacy and indoctrination, particularly with children,” Beall said astatine the meeting. 

“This was a bold, expressed, written and overt effort to indoctrinate the families successful Rancho Santa Margarita with this governmental view,” helium said.

In a connection sent to Voice of OC aft the meeting, Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley (BGCCV) CEO Nicole Watson said the speechmaking database was created to “offer adults optional resources for thoughtful reflection, understanding, and exploration of varied perspectives,” adding that it wasn’t intended for children.

“The publication options were not presented arsenic a programming directive and were ne'er intended for Club members, nor were they presented arsenic such,” Watson wrote. “When this database became the taxable of polarizing comments wrong the City Council, BGCCV removed it to debar it becoming a distraction to our halfway ngo of serving youth.” 

Beall was the lone assembly subordinate to remark connected the speechmaking database during the gathering connected Jan. 8. The remainder of the metropolis assembly voiced antithetic concerns regarding costs and attendance astatine the Boys & Girls Clubs subdivision successful town.

But Beall isn’t the lone elected authoritative disquieted astir indoctrination astatine the taxpayer-funded, nonprofit enactment successful South OC.

Aliso Viejo Councilmember Mike Munzing agreed with Beall during a Thursday telephone interview, saying the database of propaganda was a wide effort to see governmental messaging successful a spot wherever authorities should beryllium wholly absent.

Aliso Viejo City Hall connected Nov. 28, 2023. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC.

“Politics should beryllium near retired of taking attraction of the kids,” Munzing said. “I don’t judge successful promoting thing that I judge — just assistance the kids with their homework and marque good, upstanding, beardown citizens.”

He said he’s been a large protagonist of the Boys and Girls Clubs for years but archetypal became acrophobic erstwhile helium noticed the enactment was giving retired diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging awards to members astatine an grant ceremonial successful January 2024.

“I privation [the kids] to look astatine the satellite arsenic a large agleam accidental — not that you’re being held down, successful this case, by evil achromatic people, oregon immoderate they’re promoting,” helium said.

Will Rancho Santa Margarita Extend its Contract with the Boys & Girls Clubs?

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley has 3 locations: Rancho Santa Margarita, Aliso Viejo and San Juan Capistrano. They supply afterschool and summertime programming and activities for section younker astatine a debased cost. The organization’s nationalist website besides promotes inclusivity and belonging passim its branches nationwide.

The Rancho Santa Margarita subdivision has been operating successful the metropolis since 2012.

On April 10, 2024, the assembly met to see extending the organization’s contract, which was acceptable to expire successful July.

However, during that meeting, assembly members voiced concerns regarding debased attendance, fewer proscription offerings for children, a precocious fig of attendees from extracurricular the metropolis and the wide outgo of the program.

In April, the assembly voted to widen the Boys & Girls Clubs declaration by lone 1 twelvemonth — with the stipulation that the enactment indispensable instrumentality to the assembly wrong six months with a study that addressed the council’s concerns. Beall was the lone dissenting vote.

During the Jan. 8 Rancho Santa Margarita City Council meeting, Watson presented the council-requested study connected the branch’s programs and services.

She explained that attendance has accrued by astir 33% since April 2024 and the enactment has accrued van proscription to prime up from much Rancho Santa Margarita schools.

Beall questioned if the regular mean fig of attendees arsenic reported by the enactment is accurate.

“The nine has told america successful their six-month study there’s been a 33% summation successful regular mean attendance,” helium said. “Quite frankly, we person nary mode of validating that. I deliberation those numbers are somewhat suspect.”

Rancho Santa Margarita Civic Center. Credit: JESSICA RUIZ, Voice of OC

However, the council’s biggest country of interest was differences betwixt Rancho Santa Margarita’s subdivision and the different 2 branches successful Aliso Viejo and San Juan Capistrano. Councilmembers expressed interest that their metropolis is overpaying for services and programs that service less children compared to their neighbors.

Rancho Santa Margarita pays $120,000 annually for services, according to the unit report.

San Juan Capistrano pays $103,058 annually for the Boys & Girls Clubs afterschool and summertime younker services and programs, according to the astir caller memorandum of understanding that was approved successful 2023 for a five-year word with an optional five-year extension.

Aliso Viejo’s declaration outlines a $177,500 yearly magnitude for services for the Boys & Girls Clubs, according to the five-year agreement executed successful 2022.

Although the RSM City Council requested the study see circumstantial outgo and attendance information to comparison the 3 antithetic Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley locations, this accusation was near out.

Watson said it wouldn’t beryllium just to comparison these 3 locations since each is tailored to the circumstantial assemblage needs — creating immense differences successful however each determination operates.

“Comparing programs extracurricular of Rancho Santa Margarita is [comparing] apples and oranges,” she told assembly members connected Jan. 8. “It’s impractical owed to the chiseled differences betwixt each determination and the communities successful which they work which makes them unique.”

This caused interest for the assembly since this information was specifically requested arsenic portion of the one-year declaration hold from April 2024.

“The crushed I talked astir comparing the locations is truthful we tin spot if what we’re paying is reasonable, due to the fact that we person taxpayers and the kids to effort and harvester to marque this each work,” Councilmember Jerry Holloway said.

“It gives america a rougher clip to effort and determine if there’s a mode to conscionable determination to get to a ‘yes,’” helium said. “It makes it a batch much difficult.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs subdivision is requesting a three-year declaration with an optional two-year hold with the aforesaid presumption arsenic before, but a last determination hasn’t been made yet.

Instead, representatives from the metropolis and the enactment volition proceed discussing presumption to effort and find a compromise earlier the existent declaration is acceptable to expire this July.

Watson besides suggested the metropolis could commencement implicit and enactment retired a telephone for a caller vendor if the assembly thinks that’s the champion decision.

“If we’re going to spell nether scrutiny for reasons we don’t understand, and you don’t consciousness similar we’re the champion program, don’t wounded the kids for that reason,” Watson said.

“We would of people emotion serving kids successful the Rancho Santa Margarita area, but if an RFP [request for proposals] is champion for this community, past we suggest that that beryllium done,” she said.

At the extremity of the meeting, the assembly directed unit to conscionable with representatives from the enactment earlier the extremity of the period to sermon reaching a compromise. Beall was the lone “no” vote.

There isn’t a confirmed day erstwhile the point volition instrumentality to council, but it indispensable beryllium earlier the Boys & Girls Clubs existent declaration is acceptable to expire successful July 2025.

“I deliberation we tin travel to an endpoint that is satisfactory,” Councilmember Brad McGirr said during the meeting. “If we can’t, we can’t. But I deliberation arsenic grown-ups successful the room, we tin surely springiness it our champion efforts present successful the caller year.”

Angelina Hicks is simply a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her astatine ahicks@voiceofoc.org oregon connected Twitter @angelinahicks13.

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