County’s Proposal to Seek School-to-Work Funds Sparks Debate

THOUSAND OAKS — Less than two weeks before the deadline for a federal grant that could provide up to $2.9 million to prepare county students for the work force, the County Board of Education held a forum on the school-to-work program Tuesday.

During the more than two-hour debate at the Rockwell Center attended by more than 60 people, experts argued passionately about the federal program, which could potentially affect thousands of county students from kindergarten to 12th grade.

If approved, the federal grant would provide money for school-to-work programs: classes, curriculum and internships geared toward helping students review career options. The money could be used to expand existing programs in three districts or begin the program at 17 other districts in the county.

At issue Tuesday was not so much whether the county should apply for the grant on behalf of local districts but whether the program--now underway in Oxnard, Moorpark and Santa Paula--is the best way to prepare students for future careers.

“They’re not looking at the program as it is right now so much as the implication [of the program] down the road,” said the debate’s moderator, William Bleuel, a business professor at Pepperdine University.

Critics blasted the federal program, saying it would water down school curriculum, turn students into working drones and erode local control over schools. Supporters hailed the school-to-work concept as a helpful way to expose students to a broad range of careers, especially for those who may never attend college.

“The bottom line for school-to-career is we want to improve student learning, improve student skills, and give my children and your children a greater opportunity for success once they graduate,” said Jerry McLeroy, a program supporter.

“I believe the school-to-work program will destroy academics as we know it,” said Rosemarie Avila of the Santa Ana Unified School District, which has such a program. “That’s my concern as a teacher, trustee and mother.”

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In the past few years, the school-to-work issue has generated little controversy locally, compared with other areas, such as in Orange County. Ventura County’s school districts have adopted school-to-work programs so far with little debate.

In the Oxnard Union High School District, students can enroll in floristry, criminal justice, and tourism and hospitality classes, and receive school credit for working at corresponding local businesses. Additional school-to-work programs have started in the Moorpark Unified and Santa Paula Union High school districts.

In general, the programs have generated positive reviews from students and educators. They argue that the school-to-work courses helped students to focus on careers before they got to college, saving them time and making their academic course work in high school more relevant.

Conservative Ventura County board members Marty Bates and Angela Miller, critics of the program, wanted again to debate the merits of the school-to-work curriculum and suggested Tuesday’s meeting. Two years ago, they were unsuccessful in their bid to block Ventura County schools Supt. Charles Weis from applying for a $2.5-million federal grant for the program.

They argued that federal funds would come with too many strings and create a bureaucracy to maintain the program, but Weis ultimately cited his authority under the state Education Code and sent the application, which was eventually denied by the state.

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While members of the board’s conservative majority said they do not plan to fight the latest application, due June 27, they said they wanted to start a discussion about the value of the program, saying it could affect thousands of students over the next few years.

“The main point is to inform the public of the school-to-career program. The majority of the public doesn’t know what the school-to-career program is. They think it’s ROP [Regional Occupation Program] and it’s not,” said Bates, the board president.

One of the largest fears by critics is that the school-to-work program could take too much attention from academics by focusing on the working world.

“The old standbys, the beautiful rational arguments in geometry, the works of the poets and the history of countries are full of wonder and are the occasions for the development of the mind,” said Richard Ferrier, a literature professor at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula who spoke at the debate. “Those are of permanent value in businesses.”

Learning the particulars of various occupations could prove shortsighted if such techniques change in a few years and the student hasn’t learned how to think, Ferrier said.

He recalled how the chief executive of the VISA credit card company once urged educators not to teach students how to work.

“I will teach them how to work,” Ferrier recalled him saying. “What I want is your student to have good character, to write a literate paragraph, and read with analytical skills and to compute not just on a calculator. Do that and I will train them for business.”

Moorpark science teacher David Cooper said his district’s health science school-to-work program teaches students all those things and more.

“They are getting taught those basics and they are learning it more readily than they have in the past. Instead of learning it through rote memory, they are learning it in the world or work and acquiring concrete skills,’ he said.

Other concerns include whether the program would eventually be made mandatory for all students, rather than its current voluntary system.

Gary Kreep, executive director of the United States Justice Foundation, a parent rights group that litigates school issues, said the language of the documents he has observed appears to be intent on eventually pushing all students into a school-to-work program.

“If you follow the federal bills in the last couple years, you’ll see a big push away from academics and a push into occupations. I think that’s because big businesses want cooperative workers.”

Weis said the grant makes it clear that the program will be optional, not mandatory.