Well, now we have this!
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The mission: Connect with every legislator in the state.
The message: Restore full, secure funding for adult & career education in California.
Why? Because K12 Adult Schools have no funding past March 2015. Yes, they are part of the new Regional Consortia but they have no secure funding. Without such funding, there is no guarantee that the districts which anchor them can continue to do so and no guarantee that they will get adequate funding through the Regional Consortia system. The RC system was a compromise between the old system and sweeping all Adult Ed into the Community College system and it's tilted toward the Community Colleges. K12 Adult Schools cannot survive unless they are part of the RC system but Community Colleges go on, regardless. Community Colleges are funded through apportionment. K12 Adult School funds were flexed (made available to K12 districts) and even that flexed funding is ending... as noted... in March 2015.
So... K12 Adult Schools need secure funding!
In response to this very serious situation, Grassroots, CFT, CCAE are all making an effort to reach the Legislature, the Governor, and the Department of Finance.
Democracy in action. The best and in the end,
the only real means to moving forward together as a people.
How does it work?
1. Find your Legislators
2. Visit them in their District Offices. They are in there in July and early August. Aides are good, too!
3. Talk to them about Adult Education. Tell them K12 Adult Schools need secure funding.
Tell them what you know about why Adult Education matters to you and your community. Are you a student or former student? The family member of a student? How has Adult Ed helped you and your community?
Tell them about the situation in your community now. Is Adult Ed available? How badly was it cut? How are things going in the rev-up to the new Regional Consortia system? What does your community need to thrive?
Remind them that over 70 Adult Schools have been closed since the 2009 and all were cut. Remind them that once the "MOE" - Maintenance of Effort - Clause runs out - there is no funding for K12 Adult Schools. Remind them that California has the 8th largest economy in the world. We can afford to educate our adults - and we need to!
Share your concerns with them. What is it you most need? What is that you know from lived experience?
Ask them about their concerns. What do they need to know, to understand?
Take advantage of this opportunity to have a conversation. In order to save and rebuild Adult Education, we need to work together. In order to work together, we need to understand each other. This is how we avoid polarization and move forward.
Give them contact information for you and/or your school. Invite them to visit a class or event.
You can give them this one sheet handout about the NLLB Campaign and the call to restore secure funding or you can give materials of your own making.
Finally, take a moment to fill out this questionnaire about your visit with the NLLB Campaign.
We'll track the visits made around the state on this map of schools and lawmakers.
We'll look to see where visits have been made and where they haven't - and need to be - and we'll report all this back to you on a website coming soon. This is a work in progress and we're working as hard and fast as we can to make it happen.
For more information on NLLB or to share your ideas or feedback, email a4cas@gmail.com
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L to R: John Mears, ESL teacher and Adult Ed activist at West Valley Occupational Center;
Alejandro Carmona, Adult Ed student from Costa Rica; and Alejandro's wife, Artemis;
on a visit with Andre Hollings, field representative for Assemblymember Scott Wilk.
If you are comfortable sharing a photo of visit, email it to a4cas@gmail.com
to share and inspire others. |
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