Adult Ed. Loses $4M in Funding Over Shortfalls

Adult Ed. Loses $4M in Funding Over Shortfalls

A recent report that the city's adult education program is losing millions of dollars in state aid due to faulty reporting of enrollment and attendance numbers comes as no surprise to United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

"They don't have an investment in it," she said last week of the Department of Education. "They don't care about teaching adults."

DOE: Enrollment Up

The DOE responded by pointing out that enrollment is actually up significantly this year. In September 2004, there were 5,707 adult ed. students. This September, that total grew to 7,870, with additional enrollment since that time.

"Adult education is a commitment of the Department of Ed., including GED, ESL and career and technical programs," said DOE spokeswoman Kelly Devers. "We have increased enrollment by 2,500 students, and expect to improve further."

The city's adult ed. funding budget fell by at least $4 million this year after the school system failed to meet attendance and enrollment targets. But the numbers are artificially low, due to a combination of undercounting those already enrolled and an inability to recruit new ones, according to the DOE.

The state budgeted $21 million for the program, but could reimburse the city for only $17 million because of enrollment and attendance issues. A state audit revealed that the city had under-reported both counts.

The failure to receive full funding troubled Ms. Weingarten, but even the amount promised by the state wasn't enough, she said.

"We are very far away from ideal funding," the UFT leader said. "We should be maximizing the amount of money we receive, and we need more of it."

She believes the key is a strong, central leader for adult education. "The issue is, we need someone in charge of the program who works with us on these issues," Weingarten said. "Someone who has the attention of the board."