Hillsborough Commissioners kill after-school program

• Rebecca Wainright
• Les Miller

A divided Hillsborough County Commission voted Wednesday morning to eliminate their after-school program on a 4-3 vote, ending a service that had dozens upon dozens of parents and children begging last week to the board not to kill (Ken Hagan, Victor Crist and Les Miller dissented).

County Administrator Mike Merrill says cutting the plan would save $7.5 million per year, but when the Board of County Commissioners began their discussion of the issue on Wednesday morning, he emphasized that there was a "misperception" that he didn't care about the kids, but maintained that there were some "serious cost challenges to the program." And he wanted to emphasize that the county wasn't closing down any parks, but instead those parks would no longer be fully staffed, but that all community centers would be available to any group on a scheduled basis.

This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 3, 2011.