City
cuts funding for Beacon schools by 10%
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Archdiocesan officials learned on May 1 that city
funding for its six Beacon schools will decrease by 10.5 percent for 2008-’09.
The decrease from $425,000 to $380,000 takes effect July 1.
“We’ll have less money available for staffing but we’ll
be able to serve close to the same amount of children, because we’ll
have the funding available to the people who provide the direct supervision
of the children,” said James Amato, deputy secretary for Catholic
Social Services, under which the archdiocesan Beacons operate.
“It’s disappointing that the number of slots in children served
has to decrease,” Amato said. “At the same time, it’s
encouraging to see that the city administration supports programs like
this to kids in neighborhoods of high poverty and high crime.”
In the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the Beacon program has two components:
an after-school program for elementary and middle school students, and
another program for high school students at night and on weekends. The
program also runs day camps at the sites in the summer.
The summer camp component of the Beacon and other city-subsidized archdiocesan
after-school programs begins June 23.
Amato said each Beacon program will serve approximately 75 children daily
in the summer camp program. In addition to the six Beacon sites, there
are five city-subsidized archdiocesan after-school programs that run summer
camps. Of those, three will serve 75 children, one will serve 40 youngsters
and one will serve 25 children.
Two former Beacons that had been downsized to after-school sites on March
1 — after initial budget shortfalls were announced by the city in
late February — have announced that, at the end of this school year,
they will withdraw from the current program altogether, according to Amato.
Each will operate after-school programs without funding from the city,
he said.
They are Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School at 344 N. Felton St.
in West Philadelphia and the Gesu School at 1700 W. Thompson St. in North
Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Archdiocese joined the Beacon program in 2006. Through
Beacons and other after-school programs, various parish schools remain
open after school hours in many of Philadelphia’s dangerous and
destitute neighborhoods, affording children a place to play and learn,
and a safe haven from drug-pushers and street violence.
On Feb. 1, four archdiocesan Beacon programs and an archdiocesan after-school
program in Southwest Philadelphia learned they were scheduled for closure
on March 1 because of budget problems at Philadelphia Safe and Sound.
Safe and Sound is the nonprofit organization that, through a contract
with the city, receives funds to manage and subcontract Beacons and other-after-school
programs. Those budget problems were blamed on discrepancies in funds
allocated by former and current city administrations.
A grassroots effort to keep the Beacons and after-school programs open
followed the announcement.
At a Feb. 19 press conference, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said
money for the threatened after-school programs would be found in the budget
of Safe and Sound — particularly in its administrative budget. He
also said his administration would look for additional funds in the city’s
budget.
On Feb. 28, archdiocesan officials were notified that all the children
at each of the affected sites could remain in the after-school program
until the end of the school year.
However, funds for the night and weekend programs at the four affected
archdiocesan Beacon sites were substantially cut. As a result, several
jobs were cut and youth who participated in those night and weekend programs
had to seek refuge at other Beacon sites.
Until February, the Archdiocese had a total of 10 Beacon schools. Because
funding for the night and weekend programs was cut substantially from
four of the 10 sites, the Archdiocese now has six Beacon schools. Programs
at the other four sites are limited to after-school activities.
Safe and Sound has announced it is closing its doors on June 30. Its board
chairman has expressed the organization’s commitment to work with
the city administration to ensure a smooth transition.
For more information about the Beacons, after-school and summer camp programs,
call (215) 587-3590.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine man be reached at (215) 587-2468
or cchicoin@adphila.org.
Summer camps at archdiocesan Beacon and
after-school sites:
*
St. Cyprian, Southwest Philadelphia
* Nativity B.V.M., Port Richmond section of Philadelphia
* St. Veronica, North Philadelphia
* St. Martin of Tours, Northeast Philadelphia
* St. Francis of Assisi, Germantown section of Philadelphia
(St. Martin de Porres Interparochial School)
* Holy Innocents, Juniata section of Philadelphia
** St. Martin de Porres, North Philadelphia
** Visitation B.V.M., Kensington
** Casa Del Carmen, North Philadelphia
** Southwest Philadelphia Family Service Center
** Northeast Philadelphia Family Service Center
* Denotes Beacon Schools
** Denotes After-School Programs