Six years ago, California voters passed Proposition 49, which created thousands of new after-school programs, invested in public safety, and guaranteed that funding would not be subject to political whims. However, the State Legislature is now attempting to repeal Proposition 49, through another ballot initiative. At risk are more than 3,800 after-school programs that keep 400,000 students off the streets. When the Proposition 49 money finally became available to schools during the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the Santa Maria Bonita School District (SMBSD) invested its $1.8 million wisely.
Thanks to Proposition 49 funding, SMBSD was able to create 18 new after-school programs intended to serve more than 1,300 students. Prior to Proposition 49, Santa Maria had never received a dollar of state after-school funding.
The State Legislature is attempting to repeal Proposition 49’s commitment to after-school funding, by proposing to submit a ballot initiative to voters in November 2008 that allows the Legislature to substantially reduce after-school funding or eliminate the state’s after-school program altogether. The Secretary of State has identified this coming Saturday, Aug. 16, as the deadline for adding new measures to the ballot.
After-school programs help cut crime by keeping kids off the streets and away from gangs. According to the nonprofit Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, after-school hours are the prime time for violent juvenile crime. Between 2 and 6 p.m., kids are also more likely to smoke, drink or use drugs, or be involved in a car crash.
Studies show that nearly 1 million teens are left unsupervised three or more days per week. With no responsible adults around to mentor these children and engage them in positive activities, it’s no wonder they get into trouble.
After-school programs, such as the ones being provided by SMBSD, are shown to improve academic skills, and even help improve school-day attendance, by helping kids stay caught up on their homework so they don’t have an excuse to skip school.
After-school programs not only give kids something productive to do with their free time, they offer opportunities for learning new skills, enhancing their studies, getting much-needed exercise, giving back to their community through volunteerism, building positive relationships with their peers, interacting with adult role models, and so much more.
All of these activities then result in a kid’s increased confidence, positive self-esteem, and desire to succeed in school and in life.
Now the Legislature is threatening to repeal Proposition 49 and its commitment to after-school programs through a ballot initiative—despite the fact that voters already declared that after-school programs need to be a high priority and should be protected from cuts, even in the face of huge budget shortfalls.
Ironically, eliminating this funding stream would do nothing to solve the 2008-2009 state budget crisis because, if voters approved the measure, funding could not be cut until next year. Voters have already spoken. Let’s not waste time and money on another initiative that would ultimately weaken public safety. Our kids deserve better. Please call your State Representatives today and voice your concern. Sen. Abel Maldonado can be reached at 549-3784, and Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee can be reached at 549-3381.
Dan Macagni is chief of police for the city of Santa Maria. Send comments to the Sun at mail@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 14-21, 2008.