NORTH FAYETTE, Pa. — Tina Varkonda is one of the hundreds of North Fayette parents who are against the township’s 2026 budget proposal.
“We are trying to show that the community does not want this,” Tina Varkonda told Channel 11.
Specifically, they are worried about the cuts to the preschool, after school programs and summer camps.
“I’m disappointed. We just voted in the same building a month and a half ago… and we voted for these people. We had no idea that they were even thinking of defunding this,” Varkonda added.
The preschool is at the community center, and according to the budget proposal, the township plans to add youth classes and gym programs in its place.
Varkonda relied on the township’s summer camp.
“It’s very disheartening that my child and other children are not going to have a place to go for the summer and be safe. Being around other kids and socializing. Not being home on his device or watching cartoons all day while I’m working,” she said.
Parents tell Channel 11, they’re not only disappointed, but left scrambling with few other child care options available.
Katie Rhoades’ has a child at the pre school, and says nearby schools and daycares are already booked for next year.
“They do not currently have slots available, they dont have programming for school age children. There’s no capacity,” Rhoades said.
Channel 11 reached out to the North Fayette Township Manager, J.R. Manga.
He sent us a response to our questions about the cuts, and said in part:
“The Township remains dedicated to public safety, road maintenance, and community park upkeep. To safeguard funding for these core priorities, it has become necessary to discontinue programs with persistently declining enrollment and financial deficits nearing $200,000.”
There is a petition with nearly 600 signatures asking the township to reconsider the proposed cuts.
Parents are asking residents to speak out against the cuts at next week’s public meeting on December 16th.
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