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Report: 6,000 kids - so far - have lost after-school program access after ISBE blunder

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Illinois

* State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders back in May…

You may have seen or heard news over the past few weeks about an issue with funding for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program. This stemmed from the pandemic years when the agency allowed grantees to carry over unspent grant funds into the next year, rather than return them to ISBE to help fund the following year, per normal practice. ISBE did not adequately forecast the impact of the carryover allowance, leading to a projected shortfall of $12.4 million for FY 2024.

ISBE requested to use some of our ARP ESSER state set-aside funds to address the shortfall, and the U.S. Department of Education approved our request. This will fully cover the shortfall and allow us to meet all obligations to grantees in FY 2024. But there is still not federal funding available to allow us to offer renewals or a new grant competition in FY 2024, which means the grant cycle for the cohort initially funded for five years in FY 2019 concludes this year. Renewals and new competitions are only offered in years when funding is available, which is why the 21st Century grant application requires applicants to plan for sustaining programming once the grant concludes. The FY 2019 grantees serve 68 locations. ISBE staff are contacting all of the school districts, and 42 have indicated they intend to offer afterschool programming for students using other funding sources. Another 13 school districts are working through this possibility. This does not guarantee that the district will continue working with the 21st Century grantee, but it does mean that programming will continue for many of the affected students. […]

We take full responsibility for the lack of forecasting and the late communication to grantees and are taking action to prevent this situation from occurring again.

* Resulting coverage from ChalkBeat Chicago…

After-school programs for 27,000 Illinois students may be in danger of running out of money after next year because of an accounting error made by the Illinois State Board of Education. […]

A coalition of community groups that provide after-school programming — who estimate the shortfall as much larger — are calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers to use state dollars to fill the gap to help programs survive in the future.

If that gap is not closed, they say, programs that provide students with a safe space after school to participate in extracurricular activities, tutoring, and mental health services may not have enough funding after next year.

Afterschool for Children and Teens Now (ACT Now), a group of Illinois after-school advocates, says these programs serve mostly Black and Latino students who attend high-poverty, low-performing schools. About 66% of students in the programs qualify for free and reduced lunch.

* Closures have begun, the Tribune reports…

Of 33 after-school programs that already lost funding in July, 27 have since closed their doors, affecting around 6,000 students across the state, [Susan Stanton, executive director of the statewide Act Now coalition] said. […]

Mah, Villanueva, Villivalam and around 20 other state legislators signed an Oct. 18 letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, urging the General Assembly to pursue the $50 million annual appropriation in support of the community learning center programs. As of Wednesday, Act Now spokesperson Emma Spencer said, the organization isn’t aware of any lawmaker committed to proposing an amendment to the budget.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 1:54 pm

Comments

I fully expect those asking in the GA for the Invest in Kids program to do all they can to save this too.

I’d like to label this snark, or point out parallels are not always congruent, but this type of error is kinda shocking in of itself

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 2:05 pm
Holy cow.

For many of these kids, after school programs represent the difference between being supervised after school lets out, and being unsupervised while single moms are at work trying to make ends meet.

This could lead to a lot of problems down the road, including students losing ground academically, and neighborhoods become less safe. When I did service learning projects in Decatur, it was understood that one of the reasons the centers existed was to help steer young children away from the influences of gangs. If we allow some of these programs to slip through the cracks, we may be introducing new harms.

Comment by H-W Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 2:12 pm
This should just be fixed. Like, promptly. I don’t think there really needs to be any kind of discussion about why it needs to be fixed, just fix it.

Now.

Comment by Candy Dogood Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 2:13 pm
“I fully expect .. ” Sure thing. Pierre will be on the case in 3 . 2 . 1

Or does he discuss just kids to take dishonest cheap shots at JB and Dems

Comment by MickJ Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 2:20 pm
Afterschool programs keep young people safe, support their academic achievement, give working parents peace of mind and enable them to participate in the workforce. 21st Century programs also provide key supports for the whole family, including ESL and workforce development services, snacks and meals, and many other services. Families and communities rely on these programs. Unfortunately, we know all too well how easy it is for programs to close, and how challenging it can be to restart them.

Comment by Andrea Durbin Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 2:20 pm
=== We take full responsibility for the lack of forecasting and the late communication to grantees ===

Whenever I read a statement like this, my first question is “Who was sacked?”

Because if a $12M screw up affecting 6K kids doesn’t get atleast 3 people fired (the person who made the error, their boss, and that person’s boss), you really have to wonder what level of misfeasance it takes to get fired at ISBE.

Comment by Thomas Paine Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 3:53 pm
Who got sacked? No one.
The only people that get sacked at ISBE are those who dare to question leadership.

Comment by HAHA Monday, Oct 30, 23 @ 9:36 am
=== The only people that get sacked at ISBE are those who dare to question leadership.===

Sure, Jan.

Do you support the program and its mission, and want funding found?

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 30, 23 @ 9:59 am