Northern Valley Suburbanite: Englewood parents voice concerns with cuts to after-school program

 
 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

BY MARC LIGHTDALE
 
ENGLEWOOD - Twenty parents assembled at the Bergen Family Center Sept. 15 to show their support for the center's after-school program after cuts in state spending led to the loss of a $100,000 grant and forced the center to raise its prices for the parents using the program.
 
Earlier this year, Governor Christie used a line-item veto to eliminate all funding for New Jersey After 3. This $3 million cut came after an even larger $5.2 million cut in 2010, according to a Better Choices for New Jersey, a coalition of more than 75 organizations that looks for alternative revenue solutions to budget cuts.
 
Attempts to reach Christie's office were not returned.
 
Fees for the program are calculated based on need, and many of the fees have nearly doubled, Magalye Matos, a local parent who helped organize the event, said.
 
Parents who qualify for free lunches at the local public school must pay $55 more per month while those parents who qualify for half-price lunches must now pay $82 more a month. Parents who do not qualify for supplemental lunches now must pay $120 more per month.
 
Many parents who were finishing up their own work days rushed over to the 5 p.m. event in order to be there to support the cause, Matos said.
 
"We're not asking them to give us something for free," Arturo Estrada, a parent with children at the Donald Quarles Elementary School and John D. Grieco Elementary Schools, said, as Matos translated. "We want to make our life better and make a safe world for our children."

"We presented a plan that could have avoided many of the cuts to education and after-school programs," Matos said. "As a result of the cuts, parents are being asked to pay double the amount for a safe learning experience."

 
"We're looking at alternative sources of funding and talking with the Englewood public school board, city council and local officials to understand the importance of after-school care and the high demand in our district," Matos said.
 
"The governor was presented with a plan that would have saved after-school funding for the Bergen Family Center and dozens of nonprofits around the state," said Rob Duffy, who represents Better Choices for New Jersey.
 
"By simply restoring tax rates to where they were in 2009 or closing corporate loopholes, he could have protected working families. Instead, he chose to protect New Jersey's wealthiest with his red veto pen."