Sofia Villagomez: Every Modesto school could use a care center

Re “Care center at Enochs High spreads arms around all ills” (Page 3A, Oct. 7): First, I am happy to hear that another program in the Modesto City School district is receiving recognition. Which leads me to hope that steps are being made to ensure equity in dispensing health resources.

My concern is with such a program existing exclusively at Enochs, is it because it is one of the district’s newest schools? Since the article didn’t raise district sponsorship or support in the school’s endeavor to implement the program, one must assume gaps in funding were covered by parents. However, when median incomes around Enochs can be twice that of families surrounding Davis High, for example, it is unlikely parents’ income alone is sufficient to create care centers in the remaining eight schools even though the need is likely equivalent.

The care center’s benefits should be justification enough to promote it as the new standard, with all schools having comparable resources. Because parent incomes are not all the same, Modesto City Schools should allocate funds to support the centers.

This story was originally published October 24, 2016 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Sofia Villagomez: Every Modesto school could use a care center."