Southwest Colorado’s only adult education center faces staff, program cuts

DURANGO, Colo. — Durango Adult Education Center is facing a 40% cut to its annual budget after losing key federal and state grants. The cuts will impact classes, staff positions, and student services.

Two federal grants supporting the center’s English language and basic adult education programs are expected to be eliminated. The center also did not receive funding this year from the Colorado Department of Education’s competitive grant program.

Two federal grants supporting the center’s English language and basic adult education programs, worth about $300,000, are expected to be eliminated following the passage of a federal budget reconciliation bill signed into law earlier this year. Additionally, the Colorado Department of Education reduced its competitive grant funding to $3 million statewide this year, and the center did not receive any funding from the program, resulting in another $100,000 loss.

The center’s original budget is close to $1 million. With the funding cuts, it is now facing a shortfall of approximately $400,000.

“We serve a niche that isn’t served,” said Susan Hakanson, executive director of the center. “Without an organization like ours, that barrier just sits there in front of that student. Without at least a high school diploma, many jobs are unattainable, all college is unattainable, most certificate programs are unattainable.”

Durango Adult Education Center, a nonprofit established in 1987, is the only adult education provider serving five counties in the Four Corners region. It offers free GED and English language courses, as well as financial literacy and workplace readiness workshops. All students are 17 or older.

The center also contracts with the La Plata County Jail to provide GED classes to inmates. The center currently serves about 60 prisoners and provides scholarships to cover the $206 GED testing fee.

Each year, the center serves between 200 and 300 students in Durango and Cortez. It currently employs 23 teachers. Seven teachers are full-time employees while the rest are part-time or volunteer.

Hakanson said the center is applying for new grants and seeking alternative funding sources, but significant changes are likely. She expects to cut daily classes from six to three and reduce part-time staff. The childcare program, which helps student-parents attend class, may also be eliminated.

“I look at the students who are in the math class — there is not a student in there that could write me a $40 or $50 check for that class,” said Hakanson. “To a lot of people, that seems like a very insignificant amount of money, but to them, it’s their grocery. We have to come up with an amount that we think we can charge and figure out some kind of scholarship money for them. If it becomes a really devastating barrier, at that point we might as well not exist.”

Joseph Williams, 17, has been attending the GED math class for two weeks. He hopes to work in heavy equipment operations and needs a GED before he can begin certification training.

“If this place doesn’t exist, I would have to stay in school,” Williams said. “But for other people, when you get into an older age, it’s hard to go back to high school if you had family problems or you had to get a job. So it’s nice to be able to come back here in the future and get it done.”

The next enrollment period begins the first week of August. The center has until then to make decisions about its staffing, class offerings, and support services.