More than 2,000 people have joined a "save Andover Youth services" group on Facebook.com, a social networking Web site, crusading against what they see as the repeated devastation of the AYS budget.
Andover Youth Council member Will English has taken the cause one step further, penning a warrant article for April Town Meeting to appropriate $50,000 to the Andover Youth Services seasonal staff account.
"If AYS were not to exist, it would completely erase a huge sense of community for the young people of the town," said Emily McLaughlin, an Elon University sophomore who thrived in AYS programs in middle and high school. "While there are other opportunities in middle and high school to be a captain of a sports team, or a leader, for someone who wasn't necessarily going to be a captain of a sports team, it was the most inviting environment when I was there."
From working in a group to learning how to sew or write her congressman, McLaughlin, 19, says AYS made her into who she is today.
Town leaders say AYS is just feeling the pinch that every department, from the schools and library to police and elder services, is sharing during a rough economy, and has the tools to save itself, by charging fees.
"I know the good they do. Nobody supports them more than I do - I got my beard shaved," said Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski, referencing the recent AYS telethon fundraiser, where he collected pledges for a trim, live on cable access television. "The issue is that when we have tight budget years, no one is sacred. Everyone has to tighten the belt ... They have to do what people are doing within their own homes to live within a budget. I'm confident the program will survive, it just demands some fiscal creativity, coming up with funding mechanisms."
The AYS seasonal budget decreased from $45,303 to $1,362 between fiscal years 2009 and 2010. English says his warrant article, which would be funded by taxation, borrowing or transfer of available funds, would fill in that gap.
The seasonal budget is used year-round, said AYS Director Bill Fahey, and used to hire high school and college students as staff, run the skate park and fund summer programs. On top of the budget cut, several grants previously awarded to AYS have run out this year.
Stapczynski's proposed budget, released this month, shows an overall increase of $11,321 from this current fiscal year (2010) to FY2011 for Andover Youth Services. The department brings in almost as much as the operating budget they're allotted by the town, $261,206 for FY2010, through fees and other income, which goes into its revolving account, said Stapczynski.
For the last two years, Stapczynski has asked town departments to dip into their revolving accounts to cover budgets, becoming self-sustaining.
Fahey - and English, in defending his warrant article - say a fee-based model does not work for AYS.
"I don't know how you could make that happen. We have done fundraisers, thinking out of the box, a million things to keep us going. But with a dramatic hit like that ($44,000 cut last year), we feel like we're in a sinking ship. In my heart, I don't feel like that's the way to go," said Fahey. "We started in 1994, and have always created a balance between running programs for fees and programs that you can't charge fees for.
"It wasn't ever supposed to be self-sustainable. I don't want to work with only those that can afford to pay. To me that's unacceptable, and not what AYS is about." said Fahey.
To make up for reduction, AYS has raised fees as much as they can this year, sold extra trees at their annual holiday tree sale and hosted a successful telethon this winter, he said.
AYS sees teenagers from all walks of life, often counseling and finding help for those going through a mental health issue, divorce, behavior problem, an unemployed parent or other issues at home, for which Fahey says he could never charge a fee. The youth who need AYS the most are often kids unable to pay, he said.
McLaughlin says that's what angers her the most when town leaders cut the AYS budget.
"People who aren't directly involved with AYS think that it's just (trips to go skiing or Red Sox games). That's just one tiny part of the incredible organization that they are," said McLaughlin, who served on the Andover Youth Council. "Many kids start out going to Red Sox games, but then get involved in political groups (like the youth council). It's so much more than that, it's more unique than any other summer program might be."
Selectman Mary Lyman, whose three children have gone through AYS program, sees the flip side of the coin.
"We're not trying to slash AYS, we're trying to say, 'generate programs that are self-sustaining'," said Lyman, who volunteered at the AYS telethon. "They did take a cut, as every budget took a cut. Partly what we're trying to do is save all the programs, whether you're the department of community services, the senior center or AYS."
"I've always said, I'm happy to pay extra for those who can't afford it, and that's the concept we're trying to promote. If we charge a couple of extra bucks to everybody, it will keep programs without having to give them up," she said.
