Director says after‑school 'Explorers' serves about 100 students but faces funding cliff in later grant years

Katie Boatright, director of before‑and‑after‑school programming, presented an update on the district’s after‑school program—recently rebranded as Explorers—and told the board the program serves roughly 100 students each day across Washington and Pence elementary schools.

Boatright said the program provides before‑school care (7:15–8:15 a.m.) and after‑school programming (3:35–5:30 p.m., Monday–Thursday, shorter Friday hours), with about 20 spots available per grade level each day and additional part‑time attendees on the roster. “We are the Explorers… we are in our second year of our second grant cycle,” she told the board.

Funding and staffing: the program is supported by a five‑year grant structure that provides $150,000 per year during the first three years; Boatright said the program spent about $143,000 last year and expected to spend roughly $146,000 in the current year. She said roughly 75% of the program budget goes to staffing. She warned that years four and five of the grant drop to 75% of the annual total ($112,500), and that the district will need to find additional funding or cut offerings: “We may have to cut Girls Who Code or Junior Chef Club… we are always looking for ways to fund this program in the future after we’ve run out of our grant funds.”

Program activities and outcomes: Boatright described daily academic supports (homework time, math and reading activities), team‑building events, clubs (Girls Who Code led by a Pence teacher; Junior Chef Club), and frequent field trips. She said the program received an award for progress in math at a recent impact conference, noting nearly 95% of attending children showed improvement in math the prior year.

Enrollment and operations: applications are open in August; Boatright said she maintains a matrix to prioritize placements and that a current waiting list contains about 15–20 students. On staffing constraints she said the program aims for roughly a 15:1 student-to-staff ratio but is limited by available space and qualified employees; she described relying on a mix of school‑day staff and outside hires for coverage.

Cost example: Boatright provided an example for Girls Who Code staffing—one teacher paid about $28 per hour for five hours per week (instruction plus planning) as the primary cost driver for that club.

Board response and next steps: board members asked about fundraising alternatives (donor LLC, endowment-style residual funding were discussed) and about program expansion if more resources became available. Administrators and the board did not adopt any new funding commitment at the meeting; Boatright and board members said they will continue to explore sustainability options before the grant declines in years four and five.