I f you think English is a dying language in California, just wait until the last adult education program closes its doors.

Here's the scoop on our state's latest naughty secret. One by one, adult education programs are being eliminated and thousands of adult education teachers, administrators and students anguish as their schools close.

With the focus inevitably on K-12, most people are unfamiliar with the scope, breadth or importance of adult education, so the enrollment numbers might stun some folks: Salinas serves 21,000 students, while Monterey's programs served more than 6,000 last year. Los Angeles caters to tens of thousands.

Locally, Castroville, King City, Greenfield and others have completely closed. Cuts cost Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education over 2,000 students. Salinas, Pacific Grove and Monterey have taken cataclysmic cuts, with additional parsing looming. On March 12, every teacher in Monterey Adult Education, including some who have taught there for 30 years, received pink slips.

Why? Because some recent legal chicanery allows districts to sweep the entire adult education budget into the K-12 kitty.

Historically, this was illegal, as the funding for each was always completely divided. Owing to this sleight of hand,