After-school programs that try to produce smarter students at Abraham Lincoln Middle School and two elementary campuses might have to turn away kids or cut activities in the coming school year. A federal grant that helped pay for the programs during the past five years wasn't renewed. The grant totaled about $450,000 each year, which was divided between Lincoln and Garfield and Indianola elementary schools. An estimated 600 students participated in the programs at the three campuses in the 2008-09 school year, and about the same number were expected in 2009-10, officials said. Indianola will cut participation from 200 to 100, according to district officials. Lincoln hopes to reduce activities, but not turn away students. Officials said they don't have information yet on what Garfield will do.

But changes will be necessary, said assistant superintendent Larry Teixeira. "The state caps class sizes so we can't take the same number of students and put them into a smaller number of after-school classes," he said

The programs target students who need help based on test scores, and tutoring is provided in math and language arts. Physical education also is offered as well as enrichment activities such as chess and guitar lessons.

It's hard to say how the after-school programs have affected students' academic performance, Teixeira said: "We're doing so many other things that it's impossible to pinpoint which program accounts for students' progress. But this will definitely have an impact. It's just hard to quantify how much."

Lincoln's after-school program is the largest of the three, running with more than 300 students last school year. Principal Drew Sylvia said he doesn't want to cut that number in the coming school year, but Teixeira said he's not sure how Sylvia can manage that.

Sylvia said he will cut after-school staff from 10 to 6, probably eliminate some enrichment programs such as cooking or archery and likely reduce field trips that have rewarded well-behaved students improving their grades.

His challenge is to trim the program while keeping it interesting enough that students will participate. The program must have an average daily attendance of 85 to maintain the state funding that now will pay for it.

Transportation is another key issue. The federal grant covered the costs of bussing students home when the program ended at 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. Sylvia said he might be able to use state funds for transportation, but it's not a sure thing yet.

About 30 percent of the after-school students at Lincoln ride the bus, and many of their parents won't let them participate if there isn't transportation, said Mary Helen Ontiveros, project specialist with the program.

Participating students not only get help with their work, but find the program a safe place to be after school -- and that's important for middle schoolers, Ontiveros said. They also get a chance to develop their social skills.

"Our kids are a mix of special ed kids with band kids with popular kids. They speak to each other where they don't during the day. We're building self esteem as well as academics," Ontiveros said.

Selma Unified's six other elementary campuses also have after-school programs; they are financed with state funds that aren't being cut. Lincoln, Garfield and Indianola also get the state money, but were the only campuses that several years ago decided to seek the federal grant, too.

Selma schools didn't lose the federal funding for 2009-10 because they did anything wrong, said Alix Frazer of the Fresno County Office of Education. "Selma Unified does a wonderful job working with this program," she said.

The county office tried to get the grant renewed, but was turned down for Selma Unified and other Fresno County schools, as well. Government officials might have wanted to give the federal money to schools that had no previous funding, Frazer said.