OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Advocates for afterschool programs are hoping lawmakers can help get more kids in their programs.
According to the Oklahoma Partnership for Expanding Learning (OPEL), 290,000 kids in Oklahoma cannot access an afterschool program but would be if a program were available. That’s where some potential state funding could help out.
Kase Curtis and Dani McTague love their afterschool program, 4-H.
“I do geology, speaking and showing livestock,” Curtis said.
“There’s so many different things you can do in 4-H. The opportunities are endless,” McTague said. “My project is visual arts, but I know people who are in STEM, leadership, agriculture, things like that.”
All across the state afterschool programs are providing educational opportunities for students like Curtis and McTague.
The programs also offer a safe space to go when the final school bell rings.
“Oklahoma faces some education challenges, and after school, it’s an effective way to support and bridge that gap, academically. Also, it introduces careers to the youth and support. Keep ’em safe between those hours of three and six,” said Tristy Fryer, OST Initiatives Director for OPEL.
Right now a bill is waiting to be heard on the House floor that would allow the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to award grants to community-based organizations that run afterschool programs.
“We have good programs in the state, but I think they need some assistance because they have waiting lists, they’re trying to expand,” State Rep. John Kane (R-Bartlesville) said.
FOX 25 asked how much the grants could total.
“The request, they’d like to start with $3 million. They would take anything that we that we felt like we could get started with. So it very well could be something less than that,” Kane said.
It is a tight budget year for the state.
“It’s only a vehicle set up, so we’ll only have grant money if we choose if we can fund it this year,” Kane said. “The funding will be problematic.”
Contingent on the bill passing, FOX 25 asked, what happens if lawmakers can’t find the funding.
“It’ll sit there and it’ll be available next year,” Kane said. “Next budget year, it’ll still be there and we will be able to make that decision again. Maybe we have a better revenue year. Maybe we’ll have some of the other problematic budget issues solved that we’re dealing with this year that won’t come up next year that would give us a little more flexibility.”
Currently, Oklahoma does not provide any state funding for afterschool care.
