Members of the Carter County Board of Education voted to change the fee structure to an after-school program in hopes of making it more accessible to students who need it.

Following a request by school system supervisor Sonya Miller, who oversees the Carter Cares program, the Board unanimously voted to institute a new sliding scale for enrollment fees for the program. Miller said she believes the adjustment to the fee schedule will promote program enrollment growth.

“We served half the number of students last year than we did the year before, and quite frankly it’s because they can’t afford it,” Miller said.

Previously the program had been free to participate in, but the school system had to implement fees to help support the program after a decrease in grant funding.

Last year, the program served around 325 students while the previous year it served more than 600.

“I would like to get back to the 600 we had before,” Miller said. “I feel like we were serving all the kids who could come and needed it.”

Prior to Thursday’s Board meeting, fees to participate in the program ranged from $30 to $35 per month per child.

Miller presented the Board with a proposed sliding scale fee system that is based on the income of the parent or guardian to help make the program more affordable for families with low incomes.

“This fee structure comes straight from the Department of Human Services,” Miller told the Board.

Under the new scale, which was approved by the Board, the following fees will be implemented:

TWO-PERSON HOUSEHOLD

• Monthly income up to $1,159 — fee is $15 per month.

• Monthly income between $1,160 and $2,200 – fee is $20 per month.

• Monthly income greater than $2,200 – fee is $30 per month.

THREE OR MORE PERSONS IN HOUSEHOLD

• Monthly income up to $1,290 – fee is $15 per child per month.

• Monthly income between $1,291 and $2,200 – fee is $20 per month for first child and $15 per month for additional children.

• Monthly income greater than $2,200 – fee is $30 per month for first child and $20 per month for additional children.

“This is a much better sliding scale,” Board member LaDonna Stout Boone said after Miller presented the proposal to the board.

The Board unanimously approved the change to the fee scale, which Miller said she will implement immediately. The Carter Cares program will hold meetings with parents at the individual sites on Monday, and the program itself will begin on Tuesday. Miller said the program will start charging fees in September.

In another matter of business related to the after-school program, the Board unanimously approved a request from Miller to allow any unused funds from the Carter Cares program to remain within the program budget instead of rolling over into the school system’s general fund balance. Those reserves could then be used to support the programs.