One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
After-School Music Program Faces Chopping Block
Photo by land_camera_land_camera via Flickr
As LAUSD faces more and more budget cuts, the school board will consider getting rid of an after-school music program for kids called Beyond the Bell.
The district-wide program, reports NBC Los Angeles, has reached 170,000 children over the years. They have music lessons and do their homework, and the program also serves as a safe place for kids to go who otherwise wouldn't have adult supervision.
"A lot of these kids would go back to empty apartments," said Frank Del Olmo Elementary School principal Eugene Hernandez. "They would go back to watching television instead of doing homework. They would probably join gangs. They would probably roam the neighborhoods...Having a place where they feel safe, that’s not going to be in existence anymore."
The program's fate will be determined in a vote tonight, and people who oppose eliminating Beyond the Bell will be there to protest.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
