De Blasio Details After-School Program Expansion
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed a $190 million expansion of after-school programs for middle school students.
The expansion would put after-school programs in schools that don't currently have them and serve nearly 63,000 additional students.
"This is not a small undertaking, it's not a pilot project, it's not a boutique effort for only a few schools. This is systemwide change," de Blasio said Monday afternoon.
The expanded program would have more than 95,000 slots and reach nearly 120,000 students. Some students don't attend every day so one slot can serve more than one student.
Currently, about a quarter of the city's 224,000 middle-school students attend after-school programs.
"This plan involves expanding the program, which is 239 middle schools that have after-school available, to 512 middle schools," the mayor said.
With the proposed expansion, more than 50 percent of students in grades 6-8 are expected to be enrolled in the free programs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
De Blasio has proposed paying for after-school and pre-K programs with a tax on New Yorkers earning at least $500,000 a year.
"We are working feverishly to get all the pieces in place and the missing link is the funding," de Blasio said Monday. "We know that our proposal will work. Other ideas have been put forward but without the clear and reliable funding attached."
The mayor will be in Albany on Tuesday lobbying for the tax on the wealthy.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo opposes increasing taxes and wants to use existing state funds for new school programs.
To read the full after-school programs report, click here.
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