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r JUL 20 1993 BOOK 90 PnE 23 �I Board is qualified, has the facilities and personnel, and is authorized by the State to operate the After School Program. By having this program within the school system, PTAs and other community groups will be involved and the school will once again become the center of the community. In the case of schools where the community is not willing or able to be involved, the day care centers can be called in. The County will be involved to the extent of allocating the $5,000 as start-up funds. Commissioner Macht was sure that with the involvement of the community groups and increased management by the School Board, the fee can be reduced or at least not increased, and it certainly will not be $22.00. Commissioner Macht urged the Board to act on this recommendation because time is of the essence and we have agreement from the School Board in principle to assume this program. Dr. Gary Norris, Superintendent of Schools, recalled that several months ago he told the Board that the School Board would present a forward -thinking plan for after school care. He could offer only to recommend to the School Board that they try running the After School Program on a trial basis this year. The fee structure is antiquated and would be reworked. He described the proposed plan as exciting. Government will be the catalyst, and neighborhoods and communities will again take responsibility as they did in the past. Some schools and neighborhoods are excited about trying some of the new ideas, and at certain schools where the enthusiasm is not so great, private providers can come in and be partners rather than adversaries. The rental fee charged to private providers in the Request for Proposals would be addressed to see if that is fair. Rental was charged because the schools were worried about allowing profit making bodies to use public facilities, but there may be other options. School operations must change with the times. Lenore Quimby, 1947 36th Avenue, owner of For Kids Only day care, agreed that it is exciting that the PTAs and other community groups will be involved in the After School Program. Ms. Quimby recounted that for the past five years she has been encouraging the County to involve everyone who has a service to offer. She felt that the civic organizations, the schools and the funding agencies should make a joint effort to address the needs of the 6,000 children who are not in the After School Program. Ms. Quimby feit that the manner of addressing this After School Program and subsequent recommendation to have the School Board handle the program was unfair to the private providers. She contended that 20