Local educators assail federal cuts to voc-ed

  • <br>For the Enterprise
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 9:56am

Taking away federal dollars may not send vocational education programs to the scrap yard but it would leave a dent.

So local boosters of career- and technical-focused programs, from automotive to veterinary assisting, have opposed President Bush’s bid to eliminate the $1.3 billion federal vocational program as part of his 2006 budget proposal.

With Congress on their side, it looks like vocational programs may win out. But the issue isn’t settled.

Bush’s proposal would cut federal funding for vocational programs in favor of his broader high school initiative, which includes money to expand standardized testing to more high school grades.

States and school districts would actually have more flexibility in how they spend federal dollars under the plan, said Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education. “If they want to use their money for vocational education, they can do so.”

Local educators have defended two fronts of vocational funding known as the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act and a program called Tech Prep.

At Edmonds Community College, Tech Prep provided 1,031 tuition-free credits to 154 students. That represented a savings of about $68,000 to the high school students in the Edmonds School District and their families.

“It gives them a jump-start on earning a technical or college degree,” said Karen Traversie, EdCC’s Tech Prep coordinator.

Mark Madison, director of career and technical education for the Edmonds School District, said Perkins money there is used for career counseling, Tech Prep support, student internships, regional competitions and integrating academic standards into technical education curriculum.

The pressure on vocational education has had an effect, Madison said.

“It has made us much more deliberate in terms of academic instruction, looking at how we support No Child Left Behind and preparing students for the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning exams).”

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