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### 02-MV287/MM |
### 02-MV287/MM
SCHOOL DISTRICT FACING DELAY IN START OF
ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES DUE TO BUDGET CUTBACKS
April 17, 2002
Having already made cutbacks due to a reduction in state
funds of more than $81 million, Miami-Dade County Public
School officials will be forced to delay by two weeks the
start of the upcoming Spring/Summer trimester for adult and
vocational education programs.
The reduction will save the school district approximately $1
million this year and it is seen as the best course of
action to avoid permanent service cuts in the adult programs
area. Some of the classes that will be affected are English
for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Citizenship,
Childcare Certification, Nursing, General Education
Development (GED) and a number of adult basic educational
classes such as remedial Math and English.
Instead of starting on April 29th the trimester will begin
on May 13th and end August 21, 2002. No full-time
instructors will be affected by the cutbacks. The changes
will impact most adult and vocational programs taught by
part-time teachers.
During the course of this fiscal year, as the school system
absorbed the reductions imposed by the legislature,
officials began to selectively reduce a number of adult and
vocational services. However, these measures were not enough
to help the overall school system end the year with a
balanced budget.
Aside from the severe reductions imposed by the state
legislature following September 11th and the downturn of the
state's economy, funding for adult and vocational programs
has been steadily eroding for the past several years. A
restrictive state funding formula, along with limited
appropriations to the Workforce Development Education fund
that have not kept up with statewide demands, has aggravated
the ability of urban school districts to service
students.
On a yearly basis, the Adult/Vocational Education programs
service more than 140,000 men and women residing mostly in
Miami-Dade County.