By Katy Murphy
Oakland Tribune
Updated: 06/07/2010 09:41:30 PM PDT
OAKLAND — The Oakland school district will consider a proposal next week to salvage what it can of its preschool programs for low-income children — at the expense of immigrants, refugees, high school dropouts and others looking to better their lives through education.
At a special meeting Monday, the district administration will propose taking an additional $5 million from adult education programs. The Edward Shands Adult School would close as a result, as would the Neighborhood Centers on International Boulevard and the Bond Street Annex.
The $9.5 million total reduction for the next school year would wipe out adult English as a Second Language classes, citizenship preparation, and high school diploma and career technical education courses, said Brigitte Marshall, director of the district's adult education programs. The only offerings remaining after the 83 percent program cut would be school-based family literacy programs, high-school equivalency classes and credit recovery for current high school students through independent study.
"It's heartbreaking for everybody to see this happen and heartbreaking to watch our superintendent have to make these kinds of decisions," Marshall said.
The cuts to state-subsidized preschool centers, which the governor proposed last month, would eliminate nearly three-fourths of the Oakland district's early childhood budget, district spokesman Troy Flint said.
No one knows whether those cuts will make it into the final state budget, but districts need to submit balanced budgets for next year by the end of the month, Flint said.
If the cuts don't go through, Flint said, the district would restore what it could.
California Adult Education
Bridges to Success for Over 150 Years
About Me
- Madeline Kronenberg
- Madeline Kronenberg retired in 2010 from the staff at Hayward Adult School after teaching there since 1980 after a successful 15 year career in administrative support serving in the federal government and corporate law firms. Ms. Kronenberg served as the Legal Secretarial Studies Program instructor at Hayward Adult School for over thirty years. During that time she also taught word processing and computer classes. In 1998 she began the Customer Service Certificate program. In 2003 she was awarded the State “Teacher of Excellence Award” by the California Council for Adult Education. Over the years, she has been active in the West Contra Costa Unified School District – where she served in numerous capacities as a parent volunteer – holding several PTA officer and school-wide elected positions at both Portola Middle School and El Cerrito High School from 1991 through 2006. Ms.Kronenberg currently serves on the West Contra Costa Unified School District School Board – elected in 2006 for a four year term. Ms. Kronenberg has five grown children and is married to Berkeley estate planning attorney Hale Kronenberg.