Adult education in the San Fernando Valley is at risk, as the San Fernando Valley Business Journal reported earlier this month. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintended John Deasy has recommended the district eliminate funding for the Department of Adult and Career Education (DACE) and reduce the budget for Regional Occupational Centers & Programs (ROCP) by 75 percent. Hundreds of residents attended the school district’s February 14 meeting to express their strong opposition to cutting adult education programs. While the LAUSD Board has delayed its decision on the controversial issue until March 8, state cuts to education funding have forced district officials into a precarious situation. LAUSD faces a $532 million budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2011-12. Doing away with DACE would give the district $139 million and the reduced funding to ROCP adds another $57 million to district coffers. Without the cuts to adult education programs, supporters argue that other programs risk severe cuts or being eliminated altogether. One potential target is the district’s 473 early-childhood education centers and preschools. Like the many businesses and residents served by adult education, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association’s (VICA) Education Committee opposes Superintendent Deasy’s recommendation. VICA recognizes that no one wants to see education cut at any level, especially in a time of great economic need like we now face. However, cutting the programs that help our city’s unemployed population return to the workforce is not the answer. DACE and ROCP provide vital services to Los Angeles businesses, residents and our local economy. Supporters of the cuts may say that the state’s community college system can accommodate the hundreds of thousands of adult learners served by LAUSD programs, but this is not the case. Community colleges are operating far beyond capacity under their own budget constraints. They do not have the space or resources to fill the void LAUSD adult education cutbacks will leave. Without another entity to provide this service, the funds from the Workforce Investment Act, Perkins supplemental grants and other federal and state workforce development grants will be unavailable to our local economy. During the 2010-11 academic year, 297,586 adults received DACE services that included: English as a Second Language (ESL), GED/high school diploma and career technical education (CTE) courses. Of these students, nearly 90,000 current high school students and 1,500 LAUSD dropouts were enrolled in after-school, evening and Saturday classes. DACE awarded high school diplomas to almost 3,000 of these adult education students and 65,057 students earned CTE certificates of completion. Specific to the Valley, the 75 percent funding reduction to ROCP will dramatically impact the North Valley Occupation Center-Aviation Center (NVOC). More than 5,000 adults are served by the center, which focuses on career technical education with an emphasis in industrial education and aviation mechanics. NVOC targets its services to Van Nuys Airport, a significant economic generator for the Valley. Hundreds of concerned citizens and students packed the LAUSD Board meeting, causing the board to postpone their decision. VICA urges the opposition to these potentially disastrous funding reductions to remain vigilant. Continue to tell our LAUSD Board members that the budget for DACE and ROCP must be maintained. Send letters, e-mails, call your representative and be sure to show up on March 8 to make your voice heard.