Cuts to state funding and uncertainty about federal dollars are jeopardizing New Hampshire’s adult education programs that are critical to employers desperate for workers. One center on the Seacoast hasn't been able to hire teachers for the fast-approaching fall semester.
The Dover Adult Learning Center of Strafford County helps 600 to 800 students a year earn their GED, learn English, and get the skills to become electricians, medical assistants, and IT specialists, or go to college.
Executive Director Deanna Strand said the $340,000 she usually gets state and federal funding covers two-thirds of her budget. She should have had the money several weeks ago. She still doesn’t know when it’s coming – or how much she’s receiving.
Strand said she’s lost teachers because without the funding, she can’t offer contracts. And she’s preparing for having to delay the start of the semester.
“All of these people, their educational futures are on hold.”
It’s been a funding rollercoaster this year for programs like Strand’s.
The new state budget reduced funding by about $1 million. Then Congress eliminated federal funding in July only to reverse course two weeks later. But none of that state or federal money has reached centers because the New Hampshire Department of Education hasn’t dispersed the grants.
Strand said: “We’re doing our best to make sure that nobody's education is interrupted. But the farther along we go, the harder that gets.”
A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Education said the agency expects to send the money out “soon.”
Gayle Davis knows the impact of funding cuts. She used the Dover center’s LNA program to recruit staff for Seniors Helpers of Southern New Hampshire, whose care allows seniors to live at home. When state funding for that program ended, Davis had to find the money in her own tight budget.
“New Hampshire being the second oldest per capita state in the country and we have an ongoing issue with our workforce,” Davis said. “We are constantly trying in the health care arena…to attract new folks to enter the health care field. We generally have to pay for their education.”
And paying for the LNA training has gotten harder. Davis said it cost about $1,800 to get an LNA license before the pandemic. Now it’s about $2,600, Davis said.
