Money for education no longer guaranteed

Jace Radke

Thursday, Feb. 25, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.

When Leslie Chikato went through her divorce in 1995, she found herself without a source of income and five children to support. Three years later Chikato is living check to check, but she is able to feed her children and smile again.

Chikato credits her success to the University and Community College System of Nevada's re-entry program.

The program, which has offices at the state's four community colleges, helps single parents and economically disadvantaged people re-enter school and learn a vocation, Southern Nevada Community College re-entry supervisor Helen Jones said.

"When I went through my divorce, I was 38 and a high school dropout who hadn't worked," Chikato said. "I had my kids and a mortgage on top of me, and all I was qualified for was a job at McDonald's. After going to the re-entry office, I've had a complete turnaround, becoming a paralegal, and I would hate to see others lose the benefit of this program."

Chikato's fears could become a reality with the federal government's restructuring of the Carl Perkins Act of 1990, which allocates money to states for occupational education programs.

In October the Perkins Act was changed to give states more discretion in how to spend money for vocational programs, removing directives to set aside money for certain programs, State Department of Education grant manager Mike Raponi said.

One of those directives was to provide money to help displaced homemakers re-enter school, but now that money is no longer guaranteed.

Last year the Community College of Southern Nevada's re-entry program was guaranteed $130,000, its main source of funding. Guaranteed Perkins Act money has also been the main funding source for re-entry programs at Great Basin, Western and Truckee Meadows community colleges.

But now those programs will compete with other occupational programs as the state Board of Education puts together a plan to spend future Perkins Act money.

Chikato and other supporters plan to make their case for the re-entry programs at the Department of Education's meeting at 3 p.m. Friday at the Cheyenne Campus of the community college. The meeting, the third in a series held in Elko, Reno and Las Vegas, is designed to gather public comment for the Board of Education as it drafts a transition plan.

"We asked that some of our students talk about what the program has meant to them, so that the board considers keeping the funding at its current level or considers putting in a higher amount," Helen Jones, the community college's re-entry supervisor, said.

If the board's transition plan does not set aside Perkins Act money for specific programs, the re-entry program will have to look to the college or find another source of funding.

The state is slated to receive about $5.2 million in Perkins money this year. The amount that each college or university's vocational education department receives is based on how many students are taking vocational education courses at each institution, Raponi said.

Last year about $650,000 in vocational education funds were allotted to CCSN.

"There are going to have to be some more decisions made by the colleges on what they do with their portions of the Perkins fund," Raponi said.

The re-entry program at community college had about 400 people last year, most of whom were single mothers. About half that number completed the program, Jones said.

"We assess what they need to get where they want to go and then try to get them there," Jones said. "We help them to find grants and financial aid."

The first thing that the program did for Chikato was to help her get her GED, the equivalent of a high school diploma. From there she applied for a federal Pell Grant to help pay for her books and classes as she set out to become a paralegal.

"They gave me $200 a month in child care which was a great help, because I was on my way to welfare," Chikato said. "I chose law and got an internship at Maddox & Associates, who ended up giving me a full-time job."

Program participants can choose from a variety of careers, including law, nursing, carpentry, engineering and plumbing. They take classes on a part-time basis.

Chikato now makes $12.50 an hour and says she is on her way to a secure life with her five children.

"The program has been a great help," Chikato said. "They've done everything. They even helped me find programs that would help give my kids Christmas when I couldn't afford it.

"I didn't know if I was going to make it three years ago, but this program has made me a strong person and I hope that it continues to be funded so that others have the same chance that I did."