The CUSD’s Board of Trustees President Micah Ali was recently invited to introduce California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond at a rally to support the passage of AB 1725, a bill introduced by Assembly Member Wendy Carillo of the 51st California Assembly District that calls for over $100 million in funding for after school programs in school districts across California. The rally was coordinated by Mr. Thurmond in partnership with afterschool program organization LA’s Best.

President Ali helped kick off the rally, introducing Mr. Thurmond and commending him for taking the lead in advocating for afterschool program funding. President Ali expressed his support and that of the district for afterschool programs as well: “From providing enriching experiences in a safe and supportive environment, to promoting social emotional learning, to nurturing the spark of knowledge and curiosity – these programs have a real and wholly positive impact on the trajectory of a child’s life.”

The CUSD Board of Trustees further emphasized the district’s its commitment to after school programming by passing a resolution at its last meeting, in which the district resolved that it “STRONGLY supports the passage of AB 1725 (Carrillo),” and its proposed shift of an additional $112,800,000 from the State's General Fund to the State Department of Education (SDE) for afterschool programs as well as increase the per-student funding among the state provides.

The resolution comes after a landmark contract recently approved by the CUSD Board that is expanding afterschool programming in Compton Unified School District to 28 school sites.