After a five-day liquid diet, students from the Algebra Project — part of Peer to Peer Enterprises — ended their hunger strike upon being granted a meeting with Mayor Dixon. The students are seeking $3 million in next year’s budget to expand their mentoring program.

In their meeting with Dixon yesterday, she advised the students to find private donations, which she would consider matching. Said the mayor’s spokesman: “We don’t have any specific opposition. We just don’t have the money.”

Already allocated in the budget is $14 million for youth programs. Last year, Peer to Peer received $780,000 from the city and $2.1 million from the school system. Referring to those numbers, Dixon said: “They can’t question my commitment to young people.”

Although the students walked out of the meeting empty-handed, a glimmer of hope remains. A City Council committee was scheduled to vote on next year’s budget last night. However, that hearing was cancelled at the last minute, as was Monday’s City Council meeting to discuss the budget.

The sudden cancellation indicates that some items may still be under negotiation.  These items likely include the Peer to Peer funding, as well as the reinstatement of the two-cent property tax reduction. The City Council President said in a statement: “The simple truth is that the council needs more time and we have more time to carefully review important priorities as part of the budget process.”

Maybe the administration will concede that it is a rainy day for Baltimore after all.

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