Kodiak College, a University of Alaska Anchorage affiliate, will run its Adult Education Program at full capacity this upcoming school year. That’s the island community’s sole program for high school equivalency for adults. One full-time person and a few other part-time positions help up to 20 students a year.
Jacelyn Keys, the college’s director, said it’s a huge relief for her staff and students.
“That was a month and a couple of days of ‘oh my gosh, not sure what we’re going to do,’” she said.
About $151,000 for the Adult Education Program was part of a $6.8 billion federal education funding freeze that left both the college and Kodiak public schools reeling. In late July, the Trump administration said it would release $5 billion of the money it froze.
But another $469,000 for the college advisory migrant program, or the CAMP grant on the other hand, is still frozen. Keys said Congress is working on appropriating money for the program for next year, but there’s been no word from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget about this year’s funding.
“We still wait to hear if that money is going to be released from OMB for this year or if there’s going to be a gap year,” Keys said.
The CAMP grant funds first year scholarships and other resources like tutors for students that might leave for work, like for fishing. The program’s director, MJ McCown, who moved to Kodiak for the job, is now waiting to see if her position will still be funded.
Keys said she advocated directly to federal officials on her own dime about why these programs are important.
“I definitely was one voice of many (in) a sea of voices asking for that release,” she said. “And yes, I did go to D.C. in a personal capacity, not as the college director, but as someone who cares about Alaska and education.”
Keys is back in Kodiak, but said she’s still pressing for the government to release the rest of the frozen funds.
“This is something I believe very strongly in, or I would have gone corporate at some point in time or started a business or something of that nature,” she said. “But I believe in the work we do in education.”
Classes at the college start Aug. 25.
