Trustees Join Push for Acceptance of Funds

Joining a growing band of school districts across the county, the Laguna Beach Unified School District board has endorsed a resolution that asks the county Department of Education to allow the flow of federal dollars to schools for career education.

Approved unanimously Tuesday night, the resolution said local school districts have the right to claim $3.5 million in federal funding available to Orange County schools for school-to-work programs, which link educators and business leaders to broaden student awareness about job options.

The program has drawn fire from conservative corners of the county where it has been derided as a federal program that will shift emphasis from traditional education to job training.

The Orange County Department of Education, which funnels the money to the various districts, has held three hearings on the increasingly controversial subject in recent months. The board is expected to discuss the matter again at its meeting June 19.

A growing number of school districts are lining up lately in support of the program, determined to make their own decisions about funding sources.

“We are stating, as are a number of other school districts, that we wish to utilize these federal funds to the benefit of students,” said Susan Mas, Laguna Beach board president.

The resolution asks the county board to acknowledge the right of local trustees to decide which funding sources they will accept and to help school districts obtain the funding.

Similar resolutions have been approved by the Centralia, Huntington Beach City, Magnolia, Anaheim Union High and Anaheim City school districts.

Ken L. Williams Jr., who was elected to the five-member county board of education last year, said this week that he still opposes the program, which he said creates a “new system of governance” that ultimately reduces local control. “There’s less direct academic instruction and more emphasis on career workplace skills,” he said.

The county board meeting will be at 11 a.m. June 19 at the Orange County Department of Education boardroom at 200 Kalmus Drive, Building A in Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 966-4012.