By Megan Ma
Hidden Villa, the 1,600-acre farm and wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills, plans temporarily to close its popular 12-day residential summer program in 2007 and eliminate eight full-time camp positions because of budget shortfalls.
The announcement - made in a memorandum by Executive Director Beth Ross, sent to select donors May 11 - came shortly after the non-profit celebrated the summer camp’s 60th anniversary.
Board members will schedule youth planning groups, open to the public and staff, to look at alternatives to the sleep-away camp. Many campers, ages 9-12, who come from low-income families, attend on scholarships.
Ross said that the timing for the cutback was fortuitous. “Non-profits in general have experienced a decline in fund raising because of last year’s natural disasters,” she said.
In 2004-2005, the organization ran a $340,000 deficit as expenses exceeded general operating costs, according to IRS tax forms.
Board Chairman Tom Livermore painted a slightly different picture. “It’s a misnomer that fund raising is going downhill,” he said. “Fund raising has remained the same, but our expenses are going up.”
In 2003-2004, Hidden Villa ran a $440,000 surplus under Executive Director Judith Steiner. The sole reason for the surplus, according to Ross, stemmed from several large bequests recorded in that year.
Layoffs were inevitable, according to Ross. “Suffice it to say that a number of positions will be cut in various departments,”
Ross said. After repeated questioning, she said that all full-time camp staff positions would be cut.
Hidden Villa plans to offer alternative positions with comparable pay to five of the eight employees.
The changes will help Hidden Villa reduce the annual costs by $350,000 next year and balance the budget, Livermore said.
“Truthfully, we haven’t received any (feedback),” Ross said. “There hasn’t been a strong outcry.”
Longtime camper and counselor Shana Barchas, who spent nine summers at Hidden Villa, said she is flustered by what she perceives as the board’s premature resignation.
“For these people to act like this is no big deal, to shuffle things around and to cut camp for kids who are disadvantaged is unacceptable. The camp’s commitment to social justice and nonviolent resolution is what saves lives,” Barchas said. She hopes the community will rally against the board’s decision.
“Every year was hard, it’s never easy. It’s unfortunate that something this venerated has to be let go,” Steiner said. “(But) the community needs to be more aware - they need to support this.”
Ross’ memo drew a comparison between current financial woes and those of 1969, when the camp program closed for the summer. Several board members including Ross could not say when the 12-day camp would return this time.
The cutbacks are not worrisome, Ross said. “We’re a very strong organization … this change will allow us to be more focused and responsive to the community.” Families have more options for camp these days, and competition for the non-profit has exacerbated the situation, she said.
“Hidden Villa is making every effort to be relevant and competitive in a very different era than when camp first began. It makes total sense to take a summer off,” Ross said.
While there was no guarantee that the camp would return, Livermore said the board would follow the wishes of the community.
“It’ll come back if the community desires it,” Livermore said. “One factor in the cancellation was that 12-day camps are much harder to fill. They often require 100 percent scholarships and the funding is substantially higher.”
Of the 280 junior high school and high school students who attend the 12-day overnight camp, as many as two-thirds are on scholarships, Ross said.
The board will vote on the proposed changes and the specifics for 2007’s $2.3 million budget at its June 22 meeting, Livermore said.
Day camps and five-day overnight camps will continue as usual in 2007.
