2009 Summer Jobs Program Cost $41 Million

The final tally is in on this year's Summer Youth Employment Program, courtesy the Washington Post's Nikita Stewart. The program cost $41 million this year, which is "significantly less than last year, when the mayor promised a job to any youth who wanted one, but enough to eclipse similar programs in most big cities." This year's program was criticized less for payroll problems and more for employed kids either doing a crummy job or appearing to be doing not much at all. And of course, remember that the D.C. Council has limited the 2010 program to only $20 million, which would hardly cover the kind of all-inclusive program for which Mayor Fenty has always pushed. For his part, Fenty appears unconcerned: 'Fenty said he is determined to find a way around the council's caps on next year's program. "There's a long time between now and next summer," he said.'