Funding for adult education cut despite growing demand

Olaf Olson had worked for AT&T 17 years when the call center on T Street in Sacramento closed in September and his job as a maintenance administrator ended.

The 54-year-old turned to Elk Grove Adult Career Education to update his computer skills and take prerequisites for a nursing program.

"I believe adult education is providing incredible opportunities to myself and other people trying to catch up on technology," said Olson during his office specialist class Monday.

He is among a growing number of unemployed Californians seeking new skills at adult education schools, just as state legislators have made dramatic cuts to the programs.

"Right now, adult education is bursting at the seams from people needing retraining," said Debra Jones, administrator of the California Department of Education's Adult Education office. "This is the wrong time to take money from adult education."

Last year, 1.2 million Californians attended public adult schools to prepare for the General Education Development test or California High School Exit Exam, complete coursework for high school diplomas, take computer classes or learn to speak English. Some centers also offered job training and citizenship classes among other courses.

In February, legislators voted to cut adult education funding by 20 percent – 15 percent this year and 5 percent next school year.

The 20 percent cut comes on top of the suspension of a bill that allowed the state to redistribute funding from low-enrolled programs to those that had grown.

And for now, adult ed programs will be funded at a flat rate – roughly equal to what they got this year – instead of based on their average daily attendance.

Natomas Unified was capped this year at 46 adult ed students but was paid for 70 because of the state's ability to redistribute money. Next year, they'll be held to funding for just 46.

"We're going to have to cut back the classes we offer," said Ken Vanderford, principal of the adult education school for Natomas Unified. On the chopping block are high school completion courses like 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade English. The district will teach only one section of each starting in September.

He expects some of the program's 14 part-time teachers will be laid off.

And it could get worse.

Legislators also agreed to send $773 million designated for adult education programs directly to cash-strapped school districts to be distributed at their discretion.

That decision was made to help offset the big budget cuts being felt at K-12 districts, Jones said.

So far, it appears most local districts have opted to keep their adult education programs intact. But Jones expects more cuts if the state deficit deepens.

She said some districts are considering fees for some adult education classes.

Kathy Hamilton of Elk Grove Adult and Community Education said districts are hoping for federal approval to charge fees for adult English language learners classes and secondary education classes. They may also get approval to require students to buy their own books.

Folsom Cordova Unified School District cut 15 part-time teachers from an adult education staff of 80, said Principal Joseph Piazza. Remaining teachers' hours were cut. Piazza said the district serves 3,000 students a year and won't expand enrollment.

Cary Burns was laid off from the district's diploma program. She said she spent 45 minutes at weekly meetings with each of her independent study students when she started five years ago. Last year, she had so many students she cut that to a half hour. This year she saw three students every hour.

She is concerned about her students.

"These guys, they want a chance; that's why they are coming in the first place," she said.

In Natomas, Vanderford said he is having to put the brakes on a program that has been growing year after year. The district will narrow its focus to teach just English language learners, help students earn their GED and acquire computer skills.

Hamilton said her program in Elk Grove will get through this school year with grant funding and other resources. She's not taking any new students and will cut summer programs altogether, offering only a Sacramento Employment and Training Agency program for 18- to 21-year-old dropouts.

By next year, the district expects to close a few dozen classes. Hamilton said she will make 20 percent reductions across the board, taking equally from classes for English language learners, high school completion classes and preparation classes for the GED and exit exam.

The adult education program also will shutter six of the classes it teaches at the county jail and raise the rates it charges for GED testing. The Elk Grove district serves 3,500 students.

The Sacramento Unified adult education program is the third-largest in the state with five campuses serving 20,000 students, said Principal Mary Prather, who also is president of the Adult Education Council for the Association of California School Administrators. She said 6,290 of these students are English language learners.

The number of English language classes at Old Marshall Education Center will be reduced and class hours cut, and the summer program also will be lighter.

"Most of our English language learners are parents of our K-12 children who are trying to learn English to help students with homework," Prather said. "Data on STAR testing shows children who have parents taking English language classes are outperforming other children in ELL programs."