NYTimes: Protesters Rally Against Proposed Cuts in After-School Care

By Peter Moskowitz

When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg released his executive budget on Thursday, it confirmed the worst fears of many parents and advocates for after-school programs.

As many as 25,000 seats in city-financed after-school programs could be eliminated by September, a reduction of about half of the 53,000 seats that were available this year. The City Council still has to approve Mr. Bloomberg’s budget, and lawmakers have vowed to fight to restore the cuts.

On Thursday night, about 500 parents, children and administrators attended a rally on the Lower East Side, where many of the programs that would face elimination are located. They filled the auditorium inside Public School 137 and then spilled out onto the street.

Read more at: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/protesters-rally-against-proposed-cuts-in-after-school-care/?ref=nyregion