After-school programs in shortage in Brooklyn amid funding controversy
Brooklyn’s public schools will start the new school year on Sept. 5, but some will be without after-school programs.
As the 2023-24 school year ended, Albany altered the funding structure for after-school programs. The New York State Learning and Enrichment After-School Program Supports, a new initiative by the state’s Office of Children and Family Services, replaced the Advantage After School and Empire State After School programs, which had funded after-school activities hosted by schools and community-based organizations across the city until June 30, 2024.
Gounardes said the Office of Children and Family Services did not provide clear answers on how the new process had changed things, and released a joint statement with Senate colleagues Iwen Chu, Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Simcha Felder, as well as Brannan and Council Member Alexa Avilés.