At a time when the number of foreign language-speaking students in North Carolina is exploding, Congress may drastically reduce funding for English as a Second Language programs that teach English to students who have limited English fluency.
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Education, the number of ESL students in North Carolina public schools rose from 5,926 two years ago to 7,090 this year, an increase of 16 percent. Of the 119 school systems in the state, 94 report that they have ESL students, said Jerry Toussaint, program consultant at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
For the 1995-96 school year, Congress approved $195 million funding for Title VII, a part of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which funds educational programs for limited English-speaking students. But the House version for the 1996-97 appropriations bill, which was passed in August, would cut Title VII funding by 73 percent. Rep. John Porter, R-Ill., is sponsoring the House version of the bill. The Senate version is now being debated.
David Kohn, Porter's press secretary, said that despite the proposed cuts, the federal government recognizes the need to help students with limited English skills. "Given the increase in ESL funding in 1995, as well as the need to reduce the federal deficit, ESL funding could be trimmed this year," Kohn said. He said that while ESL funding is only reduced in the proposed bill, there are 170 other programs in which funding would be eliminated completely.
Congressman Mel Watt, D-N.C., said that the appropriations bill will have a devastating impact on the lives of lower- and middle-class people. "Failing to invest in... education and training may appear politically desirable in the short run, but will have dire consequences for our children and the future of our communities," he said in a statement.
Reducing Title VII funding would have minimal short-term effects on ESL programs in North Carolina, since only two school systems in North Carolina currently use Title VII funds. Schools that apply in the future for federal funding, however, would be less likely to receive money if Title VII funds were reduced, Toussaint said.
Marcie Pachino, the only ESL teacher at Jordan High School in Durham, said that although there is an obvious need for ESL education, there is a general perception that ESL kids are not really American and do not deserve the benefit of specialized educational programs.
At Pachino's school, ESL students only receive language instruction for one hour each day. "One of the hopes I have is that the state or federal government will force local governments to provideÉ more teachers, so that we can provide more classes for these students," she said.
Amy Hurka-Owen, an ESL teacher at three different North Carolina schools, said that the state needs funds to help start and centralize new ESL programs. But, she said, "Education costs money, and people don't like that."
One professional group adamantly opposed to cuts in Title VII funding is the K-12 Interest Section of Carolina Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Bonnie Parsons, vice president of the organization, said that every school should look at the changing demographics of its district and plan accordingly for more ESL programs. She said, however, that faced with a rapid, unexpected increase in ESL students, schools need additional help from local, state and federal funds, including Title VII funds. "Without funding, we're wasting a lot of the potential of children," Parsons said.
Even immigrants who have low-skilled, temporary jobs need to know how to read English, Parsons said. "Reading is crucial when you have a technological society like we do," she said. "The short-term cuts [in Title VII funding] may have long-term negative effects for the economy and education of North Carolina."
Porsha Wilson-Whitaker, coordinator of foreign languages, ESL and student exchanges for Durham Public Schools, agreed that Title VII funding is crucial for effective ESL programs. "We need adequate funding for personnel, instructional materials and staff development," she said.
Beverly Jones, District Two representative for the Durham Public Schools Board of Education, said that she has a problem with any cuts in education. "This nation was founded upon educational opportunity," Jones said. "I think, in the end, that we'll pay for [the cuts]. The only structure we have to make sure [that] we have leaders for the next generation is the educational institution." Cuts in education funding, she added, "are very deleterious to the nature of our society."
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