Struggling to Stay Open
December 22, 2000
Oakland Unified School District threatens adult education classes
By Joseph Hong
A budget deficit crises within the Adult Education Program of the Oakland Unified District has students, teachers, administrators, and others worried that in an effort to slash the deficit, classes, which benefit a large Asian American immigrant population, may be eliminated.
“If we experience cut backs, then we have to close down classes and people have no place to learn skills for their beginning here in the new country,” said John Dzoun Nguyen, president of American Viet League, an Oakland-based non-profit organization.
Early in October Oakland Unified School District officials informed members of the teachers union that as of the beginning of 2000, the Adult Education Program had accrued a deficit of $900,000. As of this month, the amount has increased to well over $1 million. According to Dan Siegal, president of Oakland Board of Education, the district has no funds to pay off the debt, so they are planning to reduce cost and increase revenue by making classes more attractive.
In mid-October Superintendent Dennis Chaconas formed a task force consisting of students, administrators, representatives from the two teachers unions, and school board members, to tackle this problem. The task force will make recommendations to the Board of Education and to Chaconas, who will then make a final decision on what strategy will be implemented to reduce the deficit.
According to John Vann, director of adult education, “The deficit surfaced at the beginning of this year … when we started looking at what last year’s expenditures were and what our income levels were.”
Many teachers, including representatives of the two teachers union, who requested anonymity, feared that in an effort to reduce cost, along with classes being canceled, administrators may want teachers and classified workers’ (clerical and custodial ) jobs to be reduced or cut.
Vann denied the rumors. “We don’t intend to close any adult education classes at all. If you’re fighting a deficit it doesn’t make sense to cut off your income … There are no plans to lay off teachers; teachers are protected. Non-contracted teachers — there are no plans to lay them off.”
But he added: “If you look at a worst case scenario, that might be a possibility to lay off non-contracted instructors, as a part of restructuring.” According to a teachers union official, contracted teachers number around 80 and non-contracted teachers number 220.
Many teachers say the deficit is the result of mismanagement, including the purchase of a high-tech learning center. Some contend the best way to reduce the debt is to sell the tech center and transfer its classes, instructors, classified workers and custodians to other sites more utilized by students. Vann, however, said “closing the tech center” would only be “a temporary fix” to a problem resulted from a decline in enrollment at the tech center and increasing operating costs. For example, employee salaries have increased, he pointed out, even though the district did not receive comparable state funding.
He said the program should run itself. Except for the cost of books and materials, classes are free. And if a class meets a state enrollment qualification, around 22 students per class, it is paid for by subsidies from California — including for the costs of purchasing and leasing space. The adult education program includes five central schools and an administration building, as well as classes that are provided rent free from the city in over 150 locations in community service organizations throughout Oakland.
One such organization is American Viet League. When Cambodian immigrant Sonia Sok, a mother of three, first attended the free adult education there, she could barely speak English. Her first class, a U.S. citizenship course, helped her to eventually become a naturalized citizen. She then took ESL and typing classes. Now enrolled in computer training courses, she has just landed a $15.50 an hour job, which suits her English language and business skills. She credits the Adult Education Program for her success.
Sok’s case is not atypical. An estimated 22,000 students in Oakland this year have enrolled in the Adult Education Program to better their lives. School administrators, school board members and teachers all agree that the curriculum provides an important service to Oakland’s large immigrant population from South East Asia, China and Russia. Teenage mothers have also used the program to gain skills for higher-paying jobs or to earn a GED high school degree. Senior citizens, especially those of Asian descent, have also enrolled to keep their minds active and meet friends.
Since many of the students don’t have cars, having classes located throughout the different neighborhoods makes them available to all. Moreover, because each class tends to attract students with similar backgrounds, according to computer and ESL instructor Anna Solomon, immigrant students feel at home.
“ESL classes are provided through the local community colleges but without a one-year residency they do not qualify for admission into local community college,” wrote officials of Catholic Charities of the East Bay, a training center that offers adult education classes, in a letter to Superintendent Chaconas. Catholic Charities officials also pointed out that “community college courses are also too advanced and intimidating” to new immigrants. “Our agency is often these people’s only and best chance for success,” the letter stated.
Many community organizations that provide space for the classes are wondering why they were not consulted to help solve the deficit problem. After all, they are the ones administering the programs.
“I like to offer my assistant and my cooperation to the school board and superintendent in which ever avenue they take to gain back the deficit … I recommend that the school board ask the Oakland mayor to help raise funds from his connections in the Sacramento legislature,” American Viet League’s Nguyen said.
At the last task force meeting, over 20 students from the American Viet League adult education classes came to show their support. One student who attended, Mildred Eng, 78, said, “Please don’t close the school. We have no place to go … This has been very beneficial for us senior citizens. I learn typing, computers. It keeps us old people busy.”
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