“Council President Brosche and I remain committed to creating a city where children from their earliest age through young adulthood have the tools and resources to thrive,” said Mayor Curry.  “As I’ve stated many times before, our youth are our city’s future, and I believe every child deserves access to programs and initiatives that will build brighter futures, pathways and opportunities for them. Although we are pleased to increase the offerings and improve access, we recognize that this is essentially a Band-Aid. It is another stopgap measure to help meet the urgent needs of children this school year, which is why the reforms that I will be introducing are essential to our children.”

In June, the City of Jacksonville announced additional funds for JCC to expand its Summer Camps to 49 partner sites that were awarded contracts to provide academic programs, fitness activities, arts, and nutritious meals to local children throughout the summer. After learning there were sites that remained unfunded, Mayor Curry requested his administration to evaluate opportunities to shift funding to support additional programs. By realigning priorities and funding streams, the mayor and council president have done the same and identified resources to increase and improve access to after-school programs. The re-appropriated funds expand after-school programs to an additional nine sites, bringing the total to 58.

“Back to school is a time when students, families and educators are full of hope about the new school year,” said Council President Brosche. “How the city wraps itself around our children is one of the most important investments we can make in our future. I appreciate and applaud Mayor Curry’s efforts to find and reallocate budget resources to reach more children.”