A last-minute replacement of state funds for adult education may give a reprieve to Utahns who want to learn English.
The Spanish word "esperar" means "to wait" and "to hope," and thousands of Latinos are doing both upon arrival in the Beehive State. They hope to find jobs and put down roots, and they wait for a seat in an English class.
"We continuously have a waiting list of 200 to 400 people," said Joanne Milner, program manager at Horizonte Instruction & Training Center in Salt Lake City. Some 3,700 students took Horizonte's English-as-a-second-language courses last year. And when the Utah Legislature pointed its cutting knife at adult education, a wide range of Utahns cried out.
"Our future is in play, and we will be the ones directly injured," wrote Fernando Diaz and Alicia Anchondo, both Horizonte ESL alumni. "We not only speak for ourselves, but for all immigrants who, in the future, will walk into these classrooms with a need to become part of the chain of life." Diaz and Anchondo sent their letter to state Hispanic Affairs director Tony Yapias, after the budget cuts necessitated removal of 14 Horizonte teachers and support staff. The adult-education course fees had also risen from $10 per semester to $35.
"For a lot of people who need these classes, $35 is a day's work," Yapias said. Yet the waiting lists grow, for daytime and evening courses. Contrary to stereotype, Yapias added, Latino immigrants are intent on learning English. Getting into a class is another question. "Our ESL classes are bulging at the seams. We're talking 45 to 50 in a classroom; students are sitting or standing," said Milner.
As it turns out, those students — both in class and on the waiting list — have an ally in state Sen. Dave Steele, R-West Point. Late in the 2003 general session, adult education funding was cut $2.6 million, or 31 percent. But lawmakers wrote an amendment into the appropriation bill that allowed for restoration of that money, provided the state had some left over at the end of the fiscal year.
In anticipation of Utahns who file appeals of their property-tax assessments, the Legislature had tightened the belt on adult education; then, according to Steele, a smaller-than-expected number of appeals were made. That left an "uncommitted balance" of money, and Steele pushed for it to be poured back into adult education.
"The Legislature gave us the authority to use up to $2.5 million of uncommitted balances for adult programs," said Patrick Ogden, Utah associate superintendent of schools.
That doesn't mean Horizonte is flush with dollars, however. About $1 million is still gone from the adult-education budget statewide; that translates to $135,000 less for Horizonte.
"Now, because we got some of this money back, we will hopefully be able to bring some (staffers) back," said Horizonte principal James Andersen. Then, first thing next year, he'll have to mount another campaign. The restoration of funding is a one-time fix; the 31 percent cut in adult education is to be ongoing. Fiscal 2004, which starts this July 1, has been salvaged to an extent, but fiscal 2005 will necessitate another fight for money, Andersen said.
The Legislature has taken a "no second-chance attitude," he added. That goes something like this: Adults have had their chance for education; if they dropped out of high school, the state shouldn't have to fund a second time around in an adult-education program.
"A large percentage of our students are from minority backgrounds; their families live at or below poverty level and they come from single-parent families," Andersen said. Many have to make sure their younger siblings get to elementary school, since their single parent works early in the morning. Some quit school to help their parents pay the bills or care for younger children. Others are immigrants or refugees, struggling with English while their teachers struggle with an overcrowded classroom. Those are all factors in the high dropout rate among minority teenagers, Andersen said. "That's who becomes an adult student. My question is: Did they have a quality first chance? I don't think so."
Steele is on his side. Shutting adults out of ESL classes doesn't make financial sense, the senator said. Without access to education, adults are likely to be stuck in low-wage jobs and have trouble caring for their children, who may in turn leave school and get into trouble. So, Steele said, denying educational opportunity to a person of any age "causes more of a burden on the state than if the state helps them up front."
E-MAIL: durbani@desnews.com