Is safety still the strongest argument for afterschool programs? How does academic achievement fit in with the publics view of afterschool?
A. From what we see in the data, safety and afterschool programs will always be intermingled in voters’ minds. Voters want their kids to be safe, first and foremost, but they also want them to have opportunities to improve their academic achievement and be exposed to creative opportunities. There will always be a connection between afterschool, safety and academics. We believe this is a good thing, because it provides us with a strong message we can lead with when presenting the other benefits of afterschool such as improved creative and social skills. Q. Please clarify your description of the response to a poll question about voters’ willingness to pay. Are taxpayers saying that they would be willing to pay $1,000 more per student for afterschool programs? A. No. The question asked, if we told you that an afterschool program will cost $1,000 per child per school year, how willing would you be to use additional federal or state taxpayer money to put these programs in your community? Ve
