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Parents urge district to save SA Youth after-school program; superintendent says district will fund it at little to no cost to families
Summary
A parent and union representative told the South San Antonio ISD board that the SA Youth after-school program is essential for working families; Superintendent Dr. Inarosa Hinojosa said the district will fund the program so families pay little or nothing and Palo Alto interns will support operations.
At the South San Antonio ISD board meeting a parent and a union representative urged trustees to preserve SA Youth, a community after-school program that parents say provides supervised care and homework help for children whose families cannot afford private daycare.
Tom Cummins, speaking on behalf of the area AFT (American Federation of Teachers) local, congratulated award-winning teachers and urged trustees to press state legislators to fund the district so that schools can maintain staffing and services. Cummins noted uncertainty in the state budget and asked trustees to contact state Sen. José Menéndez and state Rep. Phil Cortez about district funding.
Later in the citizens-to-be-heard period a parent, Silver Bernal, described SA Youth as “a blessing” for families who cannot afford daycare, said the program keeps children safe after school and asked the board to find funding or volunteers to sustain it. Bernal said the closure of some nearby options forces families to have children bused across Highway 35 and that many parents would otherwise have to stop working.
Superintendent Dr. Inarosa Hinojosa responded during her remarks that SA Youth had submitted a proposal that originally would have required parents to pay about $475,000 in fees. The district has decided to fund the program itself for a fraction of that cost and said Palo Alto interns will help staff it, making the program “little to no cost” to families. Hinojosa said district staff met that morning and were moving forward to implement the plan to preserve the after-school service.
Board members and staff did not take a formal vote specifically on SA Youth at the meeting; the superintendent presented the district plan as an administrative action in response to public comment.
The comments and superintendent response were delivered during the public-comment portion of the meeting and in the superintendent’s opening remarks; no binding board action was recorded on SA Youth during the meeting.
