State to Pump $20 Million Into Vocational Education

Seeking to invigorate vocational education programs, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday that the state would spend $20 million to expand such efforts and to better link high school and community college courses.

Schwarzenegger, who said he benefited from vocational education while growing up in Austria, spoke about the state investment after touring a nursing skills lab, a machine shop and other technical education classrooms at Pasadena City College.

“Career technical education is a first-class ticket to high-paying jobs in California’s economy,” Schwarzenegger said at a news conference in the college’s auto shop. “For too long it’s been neglected. This is equal education. We need doctors as much as we need mechanics.”

Educators have long bemoaned the decline of vocational education programs at middle school and high school campuses. Metal shop, auto repair and other career-oriented programs have gone by the wayside as budget-strapped schools have devoted money and attention to academic classes intended to prepare students for college.

But advocates of vocational education said the college-ready campaign had ignored students with other interests or academic abilities.

“In the great rush to prepare students for four-year degrees, sometimes vocational education has been overlooked and underfunded,” said Sen. Jack Scott (D-Altadena), a former Pasadena City College president who wrote the legislation allocating the $20-million infusion.

“Sometimes those students who may not be turned on by algebra and chemistry and English but could be turned on by working in an auto shop or by getting involved in the construction trade simply drop out of high school,” Scott said. “We don’t want to see that happening.”

Schwarzenegger signed two other bills Tuesday that were aimed at bolstering vocational education. One measure would expand the scope of after-school enrichment classes to include career and technical education programs.

The other would require schools to include in their state-required “accountability report cards” information about how many students complete vocational education courses and earn high school diplomas.

The scope of vocational education, which once was known simply for wood and auto shop, has broadened in recent years. The field now includes biotechnology, robotics, and computer drafting and design.

The state money will pay to expand vocational programs and to better align the career-tech curriculums of high schools and community colleges.

Vocational education teachers applauded the investment but said they wanted to see even more funding for their programs.

“We think it will do some desperately needed things in terms of improving communication between high schools and community colleges,” said Seth Bates, vice president of the California Industrial Technology Education Assn., an umbrella group that represents several vocational education groups. “But it’s a beginning. Much more will be needed to address the needs of students.”

Before he announced the boost in funding, Schwarzenegger toured several vocational classes at the college.

At a shop class filled with lathes and milling machines, Schwarzenegger asked one student who was drilling a piece of metal: “Where is this going to lead you? What profession?”

The girl responded with several possibilities: Engineering. Stage design. Special effects.

As Schwarzenegger left the shop class and headed to his news conference, a few hecklers behind police and steel gates sounded off about some of the governor’s stances.

“Stop stealing Prop. 98 money from kids,” one student called out, a reference to a state ballot initiative Schwarzenegger is supporting that would cap spending on state programs, including education funding now protected by Proposition 98.

It was unclear whether Schwarzenegger heard as he made his way to the news conference, where he joked that he would forgo his own mechanic and bring his car for repairs to the school’s auto shop.