The deadline for an approved budget for California is June 30. Now is a key time to express to legislative leaders what our needs are in Adult Schools and Adult Education.
Below is information to help you with letter writing campaigns for adequate funding for Adult Education and in support Assembly Patty Lopez bill AB1846 which would increase funding for Adult Education by 250 million dollars.
If you share this on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #RestoreAdEd.
Feel free to change in any way that suits your program, school, or consortium needs.
______________________________________________________________________
Adult Education matters. It is important for many reasons.
For example, Adult Education helps people
- learn English to help their children in school
- learn English to get better jobs or for job advancement
- learn English to get involved in the community
- learn new job skills
- get their GED or HIgh School Diploma
- stay healthy; maintain public health
- use their skills to make contributions to California culture & economy and pay taxes
- learn about US culture, connect with community
- prepare for natural disasters
- share ideas about how to cope with Climate Change
It costs money to provide Adult Education.
Funds for Adult Education pay for
- ESL, Job Training, GED/HSD classes
- Computers
- Teachers
- Technology for online classes and websites
- Student support
- Campuses - providing them, maintaining them
- Meeting new goals of Regional Consortia system
In 2008, the State of California gave about 750 million dollars to Adult Schools. Then, because of the recession, there were big cuts. Many schools closed. All the schools got smaller.
We worked hard to save Adult Education. We succeeded. We saved Adult Education.
We have new funding and stability. This is good. But we do not have enough money to do everything we need to do to help California. Many people need more help, more classes, more programs, more locations.
Now the State of California gives Adult Education - both Adult Schools plus some Community Colleges - 500 million dollars. It is not enough to provide Adult Education for the whole state.
We are writing leaders in the Legislature to ask that they give 250 million more dollars to Adult Education. We hope they will listen to us and increase the money for Adult Education.
Students can write letters separately, in groups, or as a class. Send a letter to all six of the Legislative Leaders listed below the sample letter.
In your letter, you can say something like this:
Address of your school goes here
May 25, 2016
Dear _________________,
We are students at __________Adult School. We are in the _________class.
We are writing to ask for 250 million more dollars for Adult Education budget. We need more money. We need money for ______________________ , _________________ , ________________, and _____________________ .
With Adult Education, we can do many things. We can _________________, and _______________, and _____________________ .
We like our school. We appreciate Adult Education. We want to make a contribution to California. Education helps us do that.
Please give Adult Education 250 million more dollars in the budget for next year.
Sincerely,
Make 6 copies of the letters. Send the letters to:
Anthony Rendon, Speaker of the Assembly
Attention: Rick Simpson
State Capitol
Room 219
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phil Ting, Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee
Attention: Katie Hardeman
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0019
Kevin McCarty, Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance
Attention: Brian Singh
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0007
Kevin De Leon, Senate Pro Tempore
Attention: Kimberly Rodriguez
State Capitol, Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
Mark Leno, Chair of the Senate Budget Committee
Attention: Elisa Wynne
State Capitol, Room 5100,
Sacramento, CA 95814-4900
Marty Block, Chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance
Attention: Kevin Powers
State Capitol, Room 4072
Sacramento, CA 95814
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| San Mateo Adult School students spoke up about the need for adequate funding for Adult Education |
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| They worked in groups to write their letters. |
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