ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 25, 1996 TAG: 9611250134
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
FACE IT: For all the tuition-assistance programs and other incentives that government offers, many public-school students don't go on to college. They go directly into the work force upon graduating from high school - if they haven't dropped out already.
And many of these young people are so lacking in skills required in today's rapidly changing job market that they are, or may become, a drag on the economy.
It's been estimated that corporate America now spends $30 billion a year on remedial education and on-the-job training for new workers, and loses another $30 billion annually because companies are unable to upgrade operations and products as quickly as they need to - because underskilled employees slow them down.
To help address this untenable trend, Congress passed the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. It provides federal funds to states to design work-force-relevant curricula for kids who aren't college bound and who need technical and communications skills not offered by the outdated industrial ``shop'' model.
Many Virginia business leaders will attest that such an initiative is urgently needed.
Yet, thus far, Gov. George Allen has not applied for the funds to implement school-to-work programs in Virginia. He says local efforts aren't ready yet to receive the money. What's more, while Allen says he intends to seek the funds, several conservative organizations in the commonwealth are now urging him to turn it down.
That's right - kiss off upward to $40 million in education support that would benefit thousands of Virginia schoolchildren among the most at risk of failing in the new economy. As irrational as this action would be, consider the right-wingers' reasoning for proposing it:
The school-to-work funding - funny money, their reasoning goes - is part of a conspiracy by the feds and labor unions to steer kids into jobs that will boost unions' membership.
Virginia, they argue, should not be fooled by businesses' interest and support. In many states, business representatives have become partners with educators in designing public-school programs for various career tracks for non-college-bound kids, with business types sometimes even serving as teachers. But this, say the critics, is but a smoke screen for the government-union takeover plot.
What's next - hints of United Nations involvement?
Allen turned down funding for Goals 2000, a national bipartisan effort to upgrade standards in education, on the grounds that it would bring federal intrusion into local schools. But the governor has, as yet, indicated no such absurd concerns about school-to-work funding.
Let's hope he keeps his bearings on this one. The skills gap is growing wider - and the political paranoia is getting out of hand.
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