Posted on: Friday, June 21, 2002

Education
A-Plus childcare fees to stay the same

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

The state's popular A-Plus after-school program will continue through the next school year without a fee increase for parents.

The governor has released $3.5 million in the education budget that will allow the Department of Education to continue the program at its current level, state schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said yesterday.

Money for the program initially had been reduced as part of the Department of Education's share of a 2 percent statewide reduction in discretionary spending. Although state spending on education grew this year, school officials said their fixed costs outpaced the gain.

Gov. Ben Cayetano proposed a $3.5 million cut to the A-Plus program, and lawmakers went along with the idea this spring as part of the larger effort to balance the state budget. That would have amounted to a 35 percent cut for A-Plus, which costs the state about $10 million a year.

A-Plus is an after-school program operated by the DOE and private childcare providers on school campuses to provide a safe place for latchkey kids.

Educators had expected to raise fees in the next school year to keep the program operating beyond February 2003 but were worried that the price hike would prevent low-income families from participating.

Now, the highest price that families pay for A-Plus is $55 per month, although the program costs the state $70 per child. Families with children on the federal free- and reduced-lunch program pay $6 per month.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.