Do Your Homework

Re “After-School Program to Expand,” Aug. 7: It’s a good idea. But money to protect 17,000 children should come from parents, all of whom would be happy to pay someone to take care of their children for three hours a day after school; $3 per hour (per family) would be more than fair.

That’s $9 a day to protect a child from being alone from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Some with good jobs might pay more.)

Those who can’t afford the fee, or a lesser one, should be helped by private donations and the city. Assuming 5,000 families pay $9 a day, that’s $45,000 a day ($900,000 a month) that does not have to be raised to keep a great program going.

Duke Russell

Hollywood