Church Squabble Stops Head Start

A judge ruled Wednesday that a Santa Ana church can evict a preschool program that has been there since 1984.

The Head Start program, operated by the Council of Affiliated Negro Organizations, provides hot meals and educational services to 148 children ages 3 and 4. CANO has until Dec. 1 to vacate its space at Johnson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

“It appears CANO and the church originally came together to benefit the community,” Superior Court Judge Charles Margines said. “It’s a shame that the relationships have deteriorated to this point. I feel really bad for the kids.”

CANO officials, many of whom are church members, were served with an eviction notice Sept. 13 after refusing to sign a new lease agreement that would have nearly quadrupled their monthly rent from $1,326 to $5,000. The lease payment had remained unchanged since the program’s inception 15 years ago.

Alta Manning, executive director of CANO and a Johnson Chapel member for more than 30 years, said the council will scramble to find a place for the children.

Still, CANO will not be able to provide services to the children until a new facility is found, she said. And because of the stringent health and safety codes for such facilities, she said, there is a possibility that the program will lose its state funding and will have to fold.

The initial agreement with the church stated that CANO could operate the preschool program at Johnson Chapel as long as it chose to do so. Two years ago, however, under a new pastor, the church’s trustees decided that they could no longer afford to subsidize Head Start.

“The problem is that, in some cases, people see the benevolence of the church and take advantage of it,” said Bryant Calloway, a Johnson Chapel trustee. “Our contention is that we have done more to try and treat these people fairly . . . and it has not served us well.”

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Timothy Tyler, said after Wednesday’s court ruling, “There’s no victory here. It was not my intention to hurt the kids. I’m not happy about it. It’s something we had to do as a church. There was a lot of pain involved in this decision.”

Tyler said the church hopes to bring in a new preschool program.

Former church member Eronica Alvarez said the Head Start issue has divided the Johnson Chapel congregation. She said Wednesday, “If he [Tyler] felt pain, we wouldn’t be here today. How can a man of God turn all these children out on the streets?”