P.S. 150 saved by the bell

An after school program in a Downtown elementary school got a last minute reprieve from government officials on the eve of the school year, saving the program from imminent closure.

Funding for the program at P.S. 150 on Greenwich St. was set to run out by Thanksgiving, leaving students in the lurch for much of the 2004-2005 school year. The program serves close to half of the student body and thrived for the past five years on a $54,000-a-year New York State grant, which will expire in November.

Enrollment continued throughout the summer—70 of the school’s 180 students enrolled in the program by the first day of school— despite the shortfall, and the program expects another 20 kids in the coming weeks.

Bob Townley, executive director of Manhattan Youth, the nonprofit organization that runs the program, called it “a very important program for working parents.”

Last week, the New York State Department of Children and Family services granted Manhattan Youth a $66,000 grant for the five years, bringing the budget woes to a close for the foreseeable future.

—Ronda Kaysen

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