Hundreds of thousands of children are returning to school in Maryland this week with some districts producing some of the best test scores in the country while investing with more $10,000 per child in their 10-month education.
But county officials at an Ocean City conference were told Saturday that almost one million out-of-school youth and adults need literacy skills, a high school diploma or proficiency in English.
Yet, for those adults who want to improve their reading, math or English, Maryland invests only $424 per student each year, with a waiting list of more than 4,000 people.
“We?re at the bottom of the heap in adult education,” ranking 46th in the nation, said Montgomery County Council Member Tom Perez, who served on a state panel on adult education that made recommendations in December.
Increased funding will raise Maryland to perhaps 43rd this year, but the state has been far behind the nation “for many years.”
The deficiencies are “pretty alarming,” said Patricia Bennett, manager of adult education and literacy services at the state Department of Education.
“We?re not in very good shape,” she said, and the economic consequences are clear.
Of those who need adult education, 57 percent are not in the labor force, but 69 percent are in the prime work ages of 16 to 59.
The target population includes many of the state?s new immigrants, who come here for economic advancement and also want their children to get an education. Parents who don?t speak English translate into problems for their children in school, Bennett said.
Chaired by 1st Mariner Bank CEO Edwin Hale, the panel found that an impending 74 percent cut in federal funding “will virtually eliminate adult education service in almost half of Maryland counties.”
Hale?s committee recommended increased state funding, which the legislature did despite differences between the House and Senate, but county governments and businesses also will have to pick up some of the tab.
The payoff is an increase of $1,800 to $2,500 a year in wages for the adult learners, most of them earning low wages.
“In one year, the increased wage gains of students would exceed the required additional investment,” Hale said in the report. There are also possible savings in welfare, unemployment and health care.
