California's school funding woes slash adult ed

03-07-2011

By Melody Gutierrez/Sacramento Bee

One of the biggest casualties of the school funding crisis in California is adult education. Consider some numbers: • A couple of years ago, San Juan Unified had more than 12,000 enrolled in adult education courses. In December, San Juan trustees voted to eliminate all adult education programs to help bridge a $30 million budget shortfall. • In Sacramento City Unified, the drop in adult ed students has been steep. In February 2010, adults had taken 9,372 classes in the district since July. This year, the number dropped to 5,773. The reason for adult ed's demise is clear, officials say. For decades, a large portion of California's school funding was strictly designated in categories. In other words, adult education funding was required to be used for just that – providing adults with high school diploma classes and offering a wide range of classes from English as a second language to career classes such as auto mechanics, and health and safety classes, including restaurant food handling. In 2009, those categorical restrictions were lifted for 40 programs, including adult education. That gave embattled school districts the ability to redirect a large chunk of money for other needs. (more...)

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