Older adult and parent ed programs left out of adult education budget compromise - by Susan Frey
Ruth Dunn, 72, of Berkeley raises her hand during a current events class for older adults at the Jewish Community Center in Berkeley. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource TodayAn effort to narrow adult education’s core mission is being met with resistance from advocates for older adult and parent education programs, which would lose funding under a budget compromise crafted by supporters of adult education and Gov. Jerry Brown.
“A lot of people think supporting older adult and parent ed programs is a lost cause,” said Kristen Pursley, who teaches English as a second language courses at West Contra Costa Adult Education. “But we think they are too important to give up.”
The programs have typically been offered by adult schools, which themselves were the focus of a budget fight in Sacramento this year when Brown attempted to shift oversight of the programs from K-12 districts to community colleges. Brown relented as part of a budget compromise, deciding instead that districts must keep their adult education programs afloat for the next two years while working with their local
