I’m sure the kids involved in Peer to Peer would argue that it’s a rainy day. But Baltimore City Council doesn’t agree.

Peer to Peer Enterprises — a coalition of student-led organizations — has been looking for funding for awhile now. They asked Dixon for $3 million in next year’s budget to expand their project, but have so far been unsuccessful, even after a few days of protesting outside of City Hall. The money would allow Peer to Peer Enterprises to hire up to 1,000 youths, 10 to 24 years old. The youths would be employed as tutors, coaches, and activity leaders for their peers; an estimated 2,000 to 6,000 students would benefit from their work.

Last night, Baltimore’s city council voted on a proposal to fund the programs ($3 million for Peer to Peer plus an additional $1 million for other organizations) from the city’s “rainy day” fund, which right now totals $88 million. The measure was defeated by a 9-3 vote.

Bill Henry, one of the council members who voted in favor of the funding, said: “At some point, we have to stop the cycle of madness and invest in the generation we have now so that future councils won’t be sitting around dealing with this exact same problem.”

Exactly.

The proposed budget needs to be approved by July 1. It looks unlikely that someone will find a way to fund these programs before then.

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