YMCA childcare at Moorpark schools will continue after Las Virgenes Unified ended a nearly 40-year partnership with the Southeast Ventura County YMCA. The split costs the YMCA about $3 million in annual revenue, according to YMCA President and CEO Ronnie Stone.
Las Virgenes Unified dissolved the agreement, ending before- and after-school programs at four elementary campuses in Westlake Village and Agoura Hills, the Moorpark Acorn reported Friday, Sept. 11. The YMCA's agreements with Moorpark Unified, Simi Valley Unified and Conejo Valley Unified remain in place, Stone said.
"The Y is still in three school districts and happy to be there, and if LVUSD wants us back or in a different capacity, we're ready when they are," Stone told the Acorn.
The break came after Las Virgenes Unified decided to bring childcare in-house. Superintendent Dan Stepenosky said new state funding and requirements for expanded learning that began in fall 2025 gave the district an opportunity to build its own after-school model. That district-operated program expanded to all Las Virgenes elementary campuses in the 2026-27 school year.
The state's Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, or ELO-P, provides funding for before-school, after-school and summer enrichment for students in transitional kindergarten through sixth grade, according to the California Department of Education.
Las Virgenes Unified had already ended roughly 20-year partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley and the City of Agoura Hills before cutting ties with the YMCA.
The revenue loss hits hard. Stone said the $3 million figure covers both school-year programs and summer camp. He cautioned that running childcare independently is harder than districts may expect, calling it a business that "can make you a little bit of money" but is far from simple.
The Southeast Ventura County YMCA and Moorpark Unified have partnered since summer 2022, when they launched the Find My Genius summer program for students not reading at grade level. The program enrolled 200 Moorpark students by summer 2023, double the prior year's count, according to a November 2023 district announcement. Moorpark Unified received the YMCA's Community Leadership Award at the organization's gala that same month.
The YMCA is also investing in its physical footprint. Earlier in 2026, the organization broke ground on a $7.5 million expansion of its Simi Valley Family YMCA building, adding a full-size gymnasium, a larger fitness center and multipurpose activity rooms.
Families in the Moorpark, Simi Valley and Conejo Valley districts who use YMCA childcare can email [email protected] for information on 2027 program discounts.
