All is not lost for WCTC program
Waco, GA - April 17, 2007
Times-Georgian, By Staff Writer Greg Garner
West Central Technical College officials learned late Friday afternoon that General Assembly is willing to work with the Department of Technical and Adult Education to prevent the suspension of some adult literacy classes, as well as the temporary layoff of some instructors under a Legislature budget plan. Last week, the legislative Budget Conference Committee submitted its mid-year budget proposal and left out $1.8 million for the TCSG’s Adult Literacy Program. The cut meant that WCTC would be forced to furlough all five of its full-time adult literacy classes for two months. “We have just received word from the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House that they are committed to resolving this issue and that no teachers will have to be furloughed,” TCSG interim Commissioner Ron Jackson said in a statement. “Our legislators have enormous decisions to make regarding budget issues,” WCTC President Skip Sullivan said. “The Board of Trustees, staff, faculty and adult literacy students, applaud our elected officials for their reconsideration on this crucial budget issue. We will now be able to continue our current level of services which are so critical to the economic and personal development of so many citizens in the West Georgia area.”
While there are no specifics about how members of the General Assembly plan on funding the statewide program, Jim Winchester, public relations/recruiting specialist for WCTC, said he is sure that some sort of arrangement will be worked out. “This note (from the TCSG) indicates that we should have some confidence in them,” he said. “So, we are beyond hopeful, and we have every confidences that they are going to work out some kind of a plan at this point. We just don’t know what that plan is. I don’t think that we would have received such a strong letter from the folks at the TCSG unless it’s pretty much in the bag.” But just in case the General Assembly cannot find the funds for statewide program, Winchester said her is positive that Sullivan is still considering a backup plan, such as WCTC paying for its own adult literacy program. A furlough of its full-time adult education instructors for only two months would have taken WCTC months to overcome, officials said. “This would have literally taken us months or years (to fix),” Winchester said. “Two months of service by a full-time person doesn’t sound like a lot until you start digging a little bit. If one or two of those instructors had left for a different job during those two moths because they couldn’t afford to take a two-month layover, there’s no telling what kind of damage might have been done.”
In 2006, more than 4,000 WCTC students attended adult literacy classes and/or pursued their General Educational Development Test credentials, and nearly 800 students were awarded GED certificates. As for the state, the TCSG currently has 246 full-time adult literacy instructors serving 95,000 Georgians each year. “Our deep thanks goes to our Board of Directors and supporters of the Adult Literacy program for their contacts with key decision makers that represented a ‘grassroots’ movement to bring awareness to our legislators,” Sullivan said. “I am so glad that our legislators thoughtfully reevaluated the situation and are now looking at solutions that will satisfy the current need,” said Fred O’Neal a member of the WCTC Foundation Board of Trustees. “This program affects so many Georgians and it is truly a relief to all concerned that the outcome looks positive.”
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