Those who want to study for the General Educational Development certificate will no longer be able to do it in Salem.
Salem’s Adult Education and Literacy program will be forced to close its doors Friday because state funding has been denied.
AEL Community Liaison Jackie Hobaugh said the program will end after about 30 years here. The nearest alternative class site is in Houston in neighboring Texas County.
The grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was denied because of the federal sequester, according to Hobaugh. Seven sites, including those in Dent, Phelps, Maries and Crawford counties, were targeted for closure.
Local phone service has already been disconnected.
“The DESE grant is our only source of funding,” she said. “These classes are needed now more than ever. At a critical time in our local communities, a way for individuals to pull out of poverty and move to self-sustainability is being eliminated. This should not be allowed to happen.”
Salem 17-year AEL Instructor Pat Todd said the program is important to many students working to improve their education for better job opportunities.
Program directors said Salem classes have always had good attendance.
“The Salem site is one of our best attended class sites,” Hobaugh said. “A total of 132 students came through the doors this year, with 85 students attending for at least 12 hours as of May 29.”
There have been 12 students who have taken and passed the GED test and received their GED certificates this year. On average, 18-20 students passed the GED test each year for the past 16 years. Students have spent over 101,000 hours in this class since Todd began teaching the class over 16 years ago.
Hobaugh said no specific reasons were given for the grant denial, but program officials had been notified earlier this year that the state would be getting less federal funding, which meant that program funding throughout the state would be cut and that some programs would lose some or all of their funding. Seven programs throughout the state lost all funding, including Rolla AEL.
Program directors have been recruiting ideas and funding sources, but so far no group or funding support has stepped forward to benefit the program or to keep the classes open past June 30. The director continues to seek possible supporters who value the importance of these classes for the communities.
Hobaugh said the current DESE grant application asked for $245,000 to operate for the next fiscal year. These funds provided the operational expenses for six class sites, including:
• Salem day and evening classes,
• Rolla day and evening classes (instructional materials and supplies only, teacher’s salary paid by grant from PCRMC through 2013.)
• Cuba evening class,
• St. James evening class (instructional materials and supplies only, the teacher’s salary for 2013 was paid through donations to the Literacy Council),
• Steelville night classes (instructional materials and supplies only, teacher’s salary paid by donations to the Literacy Council through 2013),
• and Belle night class.
In addition to the AEL classes, Rolla offered English Language instruction from September through April each year, offering three levels of instruction, four nights weekly. It was included in the grant to also start a much needed English Language class in Cuba. These classes are now impossible with the loss of grant funds.
Hobaugh said students who have learned of the possibility that classes could close are worried about how they will now work on improving their basic skills.
“Many were working toward taking the GED test before the end of this year because of the changes coming in 2014, which will require students to take the test on a computer. The fee for the test in 2014 will jump from the current $40 to $180. Those students will not have the support and help of the AEL program if nothing is done to keep the local classes open after June 30,” Hobaugh said. “Not only will teachers lose their jobs, but more importantly, students will lose a valuable opportunity to change the direction of their lives and fill a much needed gap in their education in order to pursue better employment or higher education.”
For more information about the program or to discuss sponsorship contact Hobaugh at the Rolla AEL office at 458-0101 Ext. 15149.
