The proposal calls for districts to keep their current level of funding with no future increase, and no mandate to provide adult services.
George Dymesich, who has taught ceramics at the Santa Cruz adult school for 40 years, said such courses provide a vital outlet for artists. He said some of his students have gone on to be entrepreneurs in ceramics and encouraged up-and-coming potters to take his fee-based class.
Cabrillo (College) doesnt have people experienced in teaching third grade to adults, he said.
We are going to have to look at how we do that, said Santa Cruz Superintendent Gary Bloom. Although they meet a need in the community, one of biggest open questions is how adult ed is handled.
In the Pajaro VAdult education bracing for more change; programs could shift to community college umbrella adult learning colleges,alley, adult education Director Nancy Bilicich also was waiting for more details before commenting.
Mary Hart, associate superintendent for business services at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, said the governors proposal raises questions about
That is kind of what has kept me going is my past students, he said. Overall, the program has gotten smaller and smaller each year.
Victoria Lewis, administrative services vice president at Cabrillo College, anticipates much more discussion as colleges and K-12 districts try to sort out the various aspects of adult ed. But Lewis, in Sacramento on Friday for briefings on the budget proposal, said scant details were available so it was too early to say how the issue would play out.
SANTA CRUZ -- Adult education, still reeling from deep cuts, is again caught up in uncertainty, this time surrounding a proposed shift in how California disperses K-12 funding.
how to move programs from one umbrella to another, which could involve cilities that belongAdult education bracing for more change; programs could shift to community college umbrella adult learning colleges to one entity and programs funded by another. Some colleges and districts, if the plan passes, dress1001.typepad.com may have to consider jointly operating programs.
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The number of students adult education served in recent years plunged from 8,000 to 1,000, and the adult school now operates on $180,000 in district money each year. The school leverages that money to receive other funding and has expanded fees to offset the loss.
Adult school teacher Jack Carroll, who is also executive director of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers,tumour4339.typepad.com. spoke of the uniqueness of the clientele and the mission. The school serves students looking for chance to earn high school diplomas or GEDs, students who may need to complete their elementary school education first.
Adult ed should have a secure funding stream, he said. The trouble is we dont know where the checks going to be mailed.
Bilicich has been looking forward to 2015 when the districts ability to transfer funds is set to expire under current legislation. In the meantime, the school has raised fees and spent down reserves to keep operations going. The program offers dozens of courses,2013-1-27 上午12:45:04. from basic education and citizenship to foreign language and arts enrichment. Last year, it served about 4,000 students.
The district has reallocated $1.6 million of $2.3 million in state funding from Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education to its K-12 schools in each of the past three years.
Although Carroll is encouraged the governor is proposing to put $300 million into adult education, he hopes Brown will be persuaded to change his mind about who gets the funding.
Everybodys in flux, Bilicich said. Yes, the budget is out there, but what would it do, and what are the legislators going to do?
Now, Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed shifting the responsibility for adult education to community colleges and providing $300 million to ease the transition.
Santa Cruz City Schools used to receive $1.6 million specifically to operate its adult school, which offers a host of language, high school equivalency and nonacademic programs. But when the state gave districts flexibility on how to spend such money to compensate for overall cuts made by Sacramento, the district chose to sweep all but about 10 percent.
