SAN DIEGO -- Dozens of East County residents are fighting a plan to move a jail closer near to their homes and businesses.

The county wants to expand the Los Colinas Women's Jail, which is located in Santee, so that it would be able to hold more inmates.

Critics of the plan told NBC 7/39 that the jail will be moved right in the back yard of a pre-school and day-care center that has been on the site for more for 25 years.

"Explain to my little girl that her future is how many hundreds more criminals are going to be in her neighborhood, in her backyard," said one woman who was standing with her young daughter.

The proposed expansion would cost $1 million. The Los Colinas jail currently sits on 16 acres; the move to a new site would expand it to 45 acres and enable officials to house more than 1,000 inmates.

Angered residents -- including Santee's mayor, Randy Voepel -- met on Thursday night in Santee to voice their concerns.

"Absolutely I'm mad," said Voepel. "I'm a fighter. I don't mess around. This will be fought."

County representatives said they would consider everything that was said at the meeting on Thursday and that any decisions about the proposal have yet to be finalized. In fact, officials will not decide about the expansion for more than a year. The county is accepting public comments until Oct. 17.