Arizona's community colleges may have to reduce adult learner support as state cuts funding

Arizona’s new state budget doesn’t include funding for the Community College Adult Education Workforce Program. It’s a loss of about $6 million a year for adult learners statewide.

Adult basic education programs help people who have not finished high school gain the skills they need to be successful in college or in their careers.

Laurie Kierstead-Joseph is the assistant vice chancellor for the Adult Basic Education for College and Career division at Pima Community College. She said funding from the Legislature helped expand adult education programs and provide additional support for students.

“Learners often need assistance with things like transportation or they might need interview clothes or different things like that,” Kierstead-Joseph said. “So being able to do wraparound supports has been part of what we've been able to do with that [funding].”

The state funding makes up about 20% of the overall budget for the Adult Basic Education for College and Career division at Pima.

“We won't see that cut immediately, say in July or October, but we will over the course of the next year, need to look at how we will trim programming,” Kierstead-Joseph said.

In meetings with legislators and the governor's office, Kierstead-Joseph said Pima heard nothing but praise and support for the program.

“My understanding is that in the end, it was all about having just an incredibly tight budget year where there were a lot of cuts across the board,” Kierstead-Joseph said. “We came really, really close and unfortunately didn't make it across the finish line.”