Valley YMCA loses after-school space
The Spokane Valley YMCA has lost the space that housed a before- and after-school program in the Central Valley School District, displacing about 30 children this coming school year.
The YMCA offered the program, which serves school-age children at University Elementary School, for more than 10 years, said Connie Reynolds of the Valley YMCA.
The program recently operated out of two portable classrooms at the old University High School, also referred to as University Center, after space ran out at the elementary school a few years ago. Transportation from the elementary school to the site was previously provided by the school district free of charge. So was the space.
This spring, the school district voted to move those portable classrooms to schools in Liberty Lake and Greenacres, and to the new University High School, to accommodate a booming student population in those areas.
In addition, the district also voted to offer the old U-Hi site for lease, which meant the YMCA could no longer occupy the space for free.
The district voted two weeks ago to lease 30,000 square feet of the old high school, located at 10212 E. Ninth, to Valley Christian School for about $90,000 a year.
“For us, it’s just cost prohibitive to lease the space. We’re a nonprofit, and we don’t have a lot of money,” Reynolds said. “We just couldn’t afford it.”
It also would have meant higher rates for the families, she said.
“The district tried to work with us; it’s not their fault,” Reynolds said. “It’s just a sign of the times where schools are outgrowing themselves and space that used to be available is just not there anymore.”
The Valley YMCA will continue to operate a before- and after-school program out of South Pines Elementary School, Reynolds said. They also have programs in five East Valley Schools, four West Valley Schools and at Freeman Elementary School.
Central Valley also offers child-care programs that could work for those families affected by the change, said Melanie Rose, district spokeswoman.