Alabamians appear to be questioning whether quality or quantity should be the focus of afterschool programs for at risk students.
The Alabama Department of Education is working to draw attention to its afterschool meal program. A recent survey commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance says in 2013, twenty percent of Alabama school kids are unsupervised after class. About forty percent of students say they’d participate in an afterschool program if one was available. State Department of Education spokeswoman Kimberly Bowen says more afterschool programming may bring benefits to Alabama communities.
“You have a lot of children in the state of Alabama that are going home to homes by themselves and if they had a place that provided them with a safe place to go and then with a nutritious meal, we’d improve our society as a whole.” (11 seconds)
Alabama is currently ranked as one of the lowest states in the nation to provide afterschool care.
Voters in Birmingham have approved a three-million dollar property tax increase. The Hike is the result of a special election held in the Magic City on Tuesday.
The tax hike will raise almost eight million dollars a year for several curricular activities. The list includes arts, music, foreign language and career academies across Birmingham City Schools.
AL.com is reporting the tax would cost the average homeowner an additional $1.83 a month.
The decision was made with just under six percent of registered voters in Birmingham casting ballots. Birmingham Board of Education President Randall Woodfin says the vote is a "major milestone" for the system.
Drivers in Montgomery County can get a break on outstanding traffic tickets. The county is hosting its second annual traffic ticket amnesty program today. Drivers with arrest warrants due to parking tickets more than ninety days old can clear their records during the amnesty period.
This applies to residents and non-residents who have received a ticket from a sheriff’s officer or a state trooper in Montgomery County. Tiffany McCord is the Montgomery County Circuit Clerk. She says the amnesty program provides options that weren’t previously available.
“If you needed payment plans before, you would have to go to court, see the judge, take a day and come into the courthouse. This way, you get an automatic payment plan if you can pay half of what is owed, you’ll have another six weeks in which to pay the other half.”
Citizens must go to the district courthouse on South Lawrence Street between eight and five P-M to clear their warrants. Citizens who were ticketed by the Montgomery Police Department don’t get this break since their tickets are handled in municipal court.