School District Raises Fees to Save After-School Care, But Not all Families Get Help

After months of brainstorming about how to save after-school programs at Albany elementary schools, in the wake of losing state subsidies, Albany Unified School District officials, parents and staff came up with a plan to maintain the programs by, among several other changes, raising average fees for tuition-paying families by about 10 percent.

This will allow the district to continue to provide subsidies to about 50 low-income families this fall. Another 50 or so who used to receive subsidies will no longer get them. But the highly regarded Cedars, Maples, Tupelo and Chinese Language after-school programs run by the Albany Children's Center will continue to operate during the school year.

At a special meeting of the Albany Board of Education on Monday, the board approved the plan, which calls for the fee increase; a district contribution of up to $63,000, if needed, plus the cost of food for lunches; and a reduction in the number of days the centers are open, which will cut the number of hours for staff.

The program will no longer run in the summer, though officials said enrollment drops by three quarters during these months anyway. Closing it in summer will save $350,000.

Last year, 327 children participated in the programs. Of these, 108 received subsidies to help cover tuition costs.

"Given the very difficult circumstances," noted board member Pat Low, "I believe the district and parents in Albany worked well together to try to maintain a program we are all very proud of."

Hourly fees will increase from a low of about $5.11 to $5.50, and a high of $6.83 to $8.50. Fees vary depending on how many hours children attend the program.

Even with the increase, said Superintendent Marla Stephenson, the fees are well below market rate. She said the solution could not have been reached without collaboration from parents, teachers and the district.

Only two members of the public attended the event, including one woman, Amanda Pacheco, who said she represented parents who are UC Berkeley students needing child care.

Pacheco asked the board detailed questions, including how people get on the waiting list for the program and how the district will choose which families will receive subsidies.

Officials said preference will be given to children who have attended the programs in the past and that decisions about subsidies are generally based on income.

Parent Kathryn Stambaugh, who has been among those working to save the program and subsidies, was satisfied with the agreement.

"I think the people at the district and Susan (Susan Stevenson, director of the Albany Children's Center) have been working really, really hard to come up with a solution to a really difficult problem," said Stambaugh whose son attends the Tupelo Spanish immersion program at Marin Elementary.  

She said it appeared they did their best to "provide as much care to as many children as possible and still be fiscally responsible."

Stambaugh did not seem to mind the fee hike, but said she hopes the community willl find a way to provide subsidies to more families.

Superintendent Stephenson said it's possible more families will receive subsidies once the financial situation becomes clearer.

The fate of Albany's after-school program was tossed in the air last spring when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating CalWORKS and related child care assistance as one way to shore up the state's $19 billion budget deficit.

The state legislature has yet to agree to Schwarzenegger's proposal or pass an alternative plan. But, in the absence of a final state budget, school districts and cities have had to create their 2010-11 budgets around the proposal. 

Albany district officials figure the loss of child care subsidies will mean $500,000 less revenue for the after-school program. To handle that loss, the board voted in June to lay off 34 staff members of the Children's Center, until either a new plan was worked out locally or the state legislature passed a budget that preserved subsidies.

Parents of children in the after-school programs organized a vigorous campaign to lobby the legislature to keep subsidies for low-income families. They sent 350 letters to Sacramento and showed up at legislators' offices earlier this month to try to convince them.

In the deal approved Monday, most of the teachers and support staff who received pink slips in June will be able to keep their jobs. But not all of them, said Susan Stevenson, director of the Children's Center.

The center will lose the equivalent of 3.4 full-time teaching positions, and 7.8 full-time support staff.

If the state legislature decides to pass a budget that continues to fund child care subsidies, the district will return to the previous system, officials said.

Retaining subsidized child care is very important to the health of the community, said board member Paul Black.

"Neighboring districts are closing down their after-school child care because they've lost the state subsidies," he said, adding that Albany can be proud to have found a way to save at least half the subsidized spots.

State cuts affect the preschool program less because it receives considerable support from the federal Head Start program. As a result, the Children's Center pre-school will offer the same number of subsidies as in years past.