School District Considers Adult School Closure

The Albany Unified School District Board of Education is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss closing the Albany Adult School due to financial restraints.

The Albany Adult School has been running in the red since recent state funding cuts to adult education. Despite the district’s attempts to cut school costs and raise student fees in order to keep the program, the school operated with a $5,432 deficit for the fall quarter, according to district staff reports. The entire year’s deficit is expected to be about $11,000.

"At this point, the district has exhausted all efforts to sustain the program," reads a staff report prepared for the board by Adult School Director Amanda Garcia.

The city of Albany has agreed to offer adult school classes through its Parks and Recreation Department, and with a viable financial strategy, Assistant City Manager Penelope Leach wrote in a letter to the district.

Albany would potentially make a profit by taking over the program. The city would pay instructors 60 percent of the gross class revenue and receive the other 40 percent, which would cover facility costs, staff and advertising in the city’s activity guide, Leach wrote. The transition would begin in April.

The Albany Adult School offers classes in areas including computer science, finance and art. According to city staff reports, nearly 75 percent of the school's students are non-Albany residents.