January 13, 2016 - By Fred Van Vleck - In recent years, and even more in recent months, the way school Career and Technical Education is funded in the state of California has changed dramatically. Probably the best-known CTE program to the farming and ranching community is the Agriculture Education/FFA program, so I will focus primarily around this vibrant, effective program and the Regional Occupational Centers and Programs, or ROCP, funding it once received from the state.
(Left) Fred Van Vleck
In 2012-13, the last year of ROCP funding, the state provided just under $385 million to support CTE. The program was primarily aimed at advanced-level courses for students over the age of 16 through their senior year. Many strong programs that were developed and sustained with these funds, dating back 40-plus years, were left without a clear future at the end of the 2012-13 school year, when the funding abruptly stopped.
Until now, there has been no answer from Sacramento on how school districts are supposed to fund and maintain a strong CTE program. This caused many school districts to cut and/or eliminate their CTE programs. This is not the answer in the nation's No. 1 agriculture-producing state! We need a skilled workforce at all levels.
Just released in November, and open for application this month, is the state's answer for funding CTE. It created a grant providing the more than 1,000 school districts across the state $400 million this year, $300 million in year 2 and $200 million in year 3. Local districts will be required to maintain a match of $400 million all three years, plus an additional three years.
The problem is that the state amount will be diminishing during the first three years and nonexistent in the last three years. This makes it impossible for districts to fund a sustainable program.
An additional problem with this funding model is the funding is targeted toward new programs instead of focusing on existing, successful programs. In your local high schools, think about successful Agriculture Education and FFA programs. Imagine ROCP funding being eliminated and replaced with just a fraction of the funding, thereby allowing other districts to build new CTE programs that may not be related to agriculture at all: This is the problem we are facing.
I am a product of a successful Agriculture Education program. Both the soft and hard skills the program taught played a vital role in my being a productive California citizen. The FFA program is what created my desire to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and graduate to become an agriculture teacher and now a school district superintendent. I will not be so bold as to say these programs will have the same impact on all other students, but I will say high-quality CTE programs positively impact students who are college bound as well as those who seek a career without a degree.
While I do not want to discount the impact on the student bound for a four-year college, I would like to focus on students who for whatever reason can't or don't want to go to college. In my community on the North Coast, until recently, this was not an issue. There were viable alternatives: the timber or fishing industries. This is no longer an option, as these industries have diminished to a fraction or their former prominence. This is not an uncommon phenomenon across our state. Many entry-level jobs that once were an alternative for our next generation no longer exist.
We need to create a logical training program for students who are not college bound, that will keep them in school and set them up for a career or advanced training out of high school. For years, the Agriculture Education programs have done this, and the new funding system from the state for CTE programs jeopardizes this future.
To solve this complex issue, a secure, sustainable funding source needs to be developed and dedicated to CTE. We need to have a long-term plan for what our future entry-level positions look like and build proper training programs to support the future need. For years, FFA and Agriculture Education have filled this need—and with proper support and funding, they will for years to come.
As with other CTE programs, Agriculture Education needs to evolve with our changing times, but without the proper financial and community support the programs will fall short of this goal.
Our next generation—our children—need you to contact your state senators and Assembly members to tell the story about the impact CTE has had on you and your workforce. Help them understand not all careers require a four-year degree, but rather a highly skilled workforce whose members understand your industry.
We need students to leave high school with the skills and desire for advanced training in a multitude of hands-on programs. This desire and skill starts in the comprehensive, well-thought-out high school CTE programs.
(Fred Van Vleck, Ed.D., is superintendent of Eureka City Schools in Eureka and a former Agriculture Education teacher. He may be contacted at vanvleckf@eurekacityschools.org.)
Reprinted with permission: California Farm Bureau Federation
