"No One Is Safe"

This Save Your Adult School blog post -

Assembly Budget Subcommittee 2 Hearing, April 8, 2014

provides important information and insight into key Adult Education issues including

- equity of power between K12 Adult Schools and Community Colleges in the Regional Consortia

- the need for awareness, caution, and action

A few excerpts:

"The subcommittee asked Dr. Harper if the fact that the funding for the consortium will be coming through the community colleges distorts the collaboration process that is central to the consortia. Dr. Harper’s frank answer, that it cannot help but do so, should set off alarm bells. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that a legislative body has brought up what should be an obvious issue: the lack of independent funding for adult schools puts adult schools in a “one down” position when negotiating with the community colleges, who have their own dedicated funding. If the state wants the consortia to be healthy, well functioning bodies, this kind of inequality should be the last thing they want. The state needs to look seriously at ways to put adult schools on a more equal footing with community colleges. Dedicated funding of their own would be a good start."

"No One Is Safe"

"Watching the long lines of Future Farmers of America and CTE students pleading for their programs made me think of discussions we adult education advocates had back when categorical flexibility first raised its ugly head. Remember those? CTE is safe, we used to say. It’s job preparation, everyone loves that. High School Diploma is safe; school districts need it to serve kids who drop out of high school. ESL is safe; how can immigration reform work without it?

How wrong we were. Future farmers and future engineers can tell us: no one is safe. Oakland doesn’t have High School Diploma anymore. We learned at this hearing that CTE is devastated. Older adult, Parent Education, Health and Safety and Home Economics programs are the most at risk now, but we can’t take anything for granted. It’s good to know the consortia are starting to pick up the pieces, and it looks like they will, but you can’t count on preserving anything you don’t fight for, which brings us to …

Next Hearing
Senate Budget Committee #1
Tuesday,  April 29
9:00 AM
State Capitol, Rm 3191"

Hit this link to read the full post - which I highly recommend you do.

Hit this link for information about the next hearing which will be before Senate Budget Subcommittee 1. 

And the members of Senate Budget Subcommittee 1 are:

Marty Block (Chair)

Carol Liu, author of SB 173 Education Funding: Adult Health & Safety Education

Mark Wyland

If you can attend the hearing, do so.  Attendance makes a difference.

And most definitely connect with Senators Block, Liu, and Wyland beforehand through a call, email, or letter to tell them what you know, need, and want for Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools.

Do not assume someone will speak up for you.