It's one more bit of bad budgetary news for local schools.
The proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2005 includes a 25 percent cut in spending for career and technical education -- also known as vocational programs -- and that could directly impact Columbia High School.
The new budget plan submitted to Congress by President George Bush calls for ending the $1.34 billion in funding that has gone to schools via the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act.
The Bush proposal, which would be effective for the next school year, calls for providing just $1 billion for the program, and instead of coming from the federal government, the funds would come from secondary and technical education state grants.
Career and technical programs being offered at Columbia High School this year include metalworking, agricultural programs, woodworking, business, graphic arts, journalism, foods, family and parenting, and computer technology.
Currently, nine vocational program teachers have a total of nearly 400 students taking at least one class within the respective categories.
"Almost every student at CHS is involved, one way or another, in a vocational program," said Jerry Lewis, director of the career and technical education program at Columbia High.
A document from the White House Office of Management & Budget explained the Bush administration's rationale behind the forthcoming cuts to the vocational programs this way:
"Career and technical training or `vocational education' in our nation's high schools has largely been an outdated relic, suitable for the classroom realities of the 1950s instead of a dynamic, academically rigorous component of the 21st century high school," read an excerpt. "As a result, students participating in vocational education programs in our nation's high schools are often limited to courses that offer a narrow set of job skills and poor academic preparations for college and the modern work force."
Lewis was upset with the language.
"The message that is most disturbing on career and technical education is calling it archaic and something of the 1950s. I don't know where Bush is getting his information. The thing that sticks under our skin is what they are saying vocational education has turned into," Lewis explained. "It's the furthest thing from the truth. There are dynamite programs out there."
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act was originally authorized in 1984. The fund was created to provide individuals with academic and technical skills needed to succeed "in a knowledge and skills-based economy." Perkins funds also support career and technical education that prepares students "for post-secondary education and the careers of their choice."
"We are having kids going beyond high school into those fields each year," Lewis added. "I'm proud of our department. Ken (Nylin) worked hard to build a strong program, and we'll work to keep it as strong as we can. We'll do our best to weather the storms and maintain the integrity of our programs and keep helping students go on and be successful."
Nationally, roughly half of the students taking these classes in high school start careers in their specific field of vocational training after they graduate from high school. At CHS, the figure is often even higher.
Chris Hipskind, a metalworking technology teacher at CHS, said that six of his seven seniors continued their training in the industrial area after graduating last year, either in trade schools or through the military.
"The goal is for the students who enroll in these classes to learn skills, knowledge, and attitudes to prepare them for going right into work situations, and more realistically to prepare them for their first in-depth training experiences out of high school," Hipskind said.
Hipskind's classes cover a diverse range of study, including blueprints, drafting, welding, fabrication, machining, sheet metal, and computer-aided drafting. The Perkins Act funding has traditionally gone to pay for equipment -- including welding equipment -- to keep training up to date.
"I don't think those programs will be in danger," Lewis said. "That's the hope, but nothing is set in concrete. This will have an impact, but to what degree we don't know. No one has a clear picture."
Hipskind said any budget cuts would hurt. He said his department's budget went from $12,000 last year to $8,000 this year, and the federal cut in the Perkins money could take even more.
"I'm already scrambling to get donations for steel, and we've cut out field trips," he said. "I can't imagine cutting any more. I don't know where we would cut. I could go out and get more sponsors, but I've pretty well tapped that out."
Lewis pointed out that the most direct impact could be to the school's community outreach programs, headed by Keri Kelly.
Kelly oversees a teen parenting program, serves as community liaison between the Health Department and the school, provides kids with intervention counseling, organizes the school's career fairs, helps girls explore non-traditional careers, and does grant research for the school. Her salary comes directly from the Perkins fund.
"She has 32 students she works with," Lewis said.
Hipskind said that when he heard about the federal proposal to drop the Perkins funds, he was deeply disappointed.
"I've been relatively supportive of Bush, but when I heard that, it just took the wind out of my sails," Hipskind said. "There are voc programs that are antiquated, but I think this particular program is having a positive effect on students' lives, preparing them for careers. What else do we have in this economy?"
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