Latest Budget Victim: Adult Education - The Bay Citizen

Latest Budget Victim: Adult Education - The Bay Citizen

Latest Budget Victim: Adult Education

by Jennifer Gollan

Facing staggering cuts tied to the state budget deficit, a growing number local school districts and community colleges are focusing precious resources on K-12 and undergraduate education at the expense of adult-education classes, eviscerating a key economic springboard for low-income Californians. The cuts for the coming school year will likely affect everyone from seniors hoping to learn new computer skills in the San Jose Unified School District to English learners in the Oakland Unified School District and at City College of San Francisco. School administrators say the state’s $15.4 billion budget deficit and uncertainties tied to the highly politicized parrying over tax extensions have left them no choice. But adult educators say the cuts will only exacerbate California’s dismal