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Governor Cuomo wows kids at KLR Elementary

Announces funding for after school programs

Rich Klein - Reporter/Photographer
Posted 11/17/17

MONTICELLO - They only had two days notice but students, teachers and administrators at the Kenneth L. Rutherford Elementary School gave New York Governor Andrew Cuomo a rousing welcome to Sullivan …

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Governor Cuomo wows kids at KLR Elementary

Announces funding for after school programs

Posted

MONTICELLO - They only had two days notice but students, teachers and administrators at the Kenneth L. Rutherford Elementary School gave New York Governor Andrew Cuomo a rousing welcome to Sullivan County on Thursday.

The governor announced funding for a comprehensive after-school program to benefit elementary school kids across the state. Monticello and Fallsburg were two of 27 districts in the state to receive this funding. Over the course of the next five years, Monticello and Fallsburg will receive annual grants of approximately $1.5 million and $708,800 respectively.

Governor Cuomo and the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) said in a news release that the districts will be receiving funds from the $35 million Empire State After-School program. The program, which was approved in the 2018 budget, will provide additional afterschool spots for some 22,000 students across New York State.

Cuomo, joined at the event by virtually every local elected official, reminded the children in the audience that schools in other countries don't end at 3 p.m. and reminded them that, in some countries, kids go to school 12 months a year.

“Education now is not just about sitting at a desk and learning the subjects,” Cuomo told the kids.

“Going home at 3 o'clock and just playing video games doesn't really help you,” he said. “You guys are going to be competing against students all across the world. There are things you can do after 3 o'clock that can help you grow and make you better.”

Tammy Mangus, Monticello Central School District Superintendent of Schools, said, “We are so in need of making sure our kids are life ready. That's our goal in Monticello and these funds will help us do that. Mangus said that under the program, approximately $1,500 will be spent on each student over a five-year period.

Dana Taylor, Monticello CSD Executive Director of Special Summer and Afterschool Programs, said: “It's an exciting opportunity for the kids and it was beyond special that the Governor chose to come here. And I'm excited to see the opportunities and the impact that this funding will have on our students.”

Taylor said some of the activities included in the after school program are education, family enrichment, exercise and some field trips. She added that the grant runs from September 2017 through August 2022.

In an interview after the event, Cuomo praised the opening of the Resorts World Catskills Casino saying, “no state funds” were needed. He also railed against the House of Representatives tax bill that passed Thursday and called out Congressman John Faso for not speaking out against it like his Long Island colleague, Rep. Peter King.

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