Agriculture education funding nearly cropped

Sonoma Valley's FFA and ag students and teachers were on high alert last week.|

Call it a barn raising to save ag education.

That’s one way to describe the call to arms waged last week when a draft of Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget proposed cutting $15 million in funding for programs in Career Technical Education and the Future Farmers of America programs throughout California.

Sonoma Valley High School agriculture teacher Dan Aschwanden was among those sounding an alarm when high schools around the state, including SVHS, learned they’d be losing a large portion of their FFA and CTE funding next year.

Gov. Brown’s 2017-18 budget directed those funds instead to the Community College Chancellor’s Office to supplement other workforce development funds.

It wasn’t long before the pitchforks were out – at least in the form of a tersely worded May 15 press release from the California Agricultural Teachers Association opposing the cuts.

“The loss of these components of Career Technical Education will have a devastating effect on programs and teachers statewide,” said CATA director Jim Aschwanden in the statement. “CTE programs remain vitally important to the economic well-being of our state, and this proposal eliminates highly effective programs that have proven their worth over time.”

Aschwanden decried the move as “a terrible mistake.”

The California Agricultural Teachers’ Association represents more than 850 instructors in agricultural education from middle school through university levels.

Jim Aschwanden also happens to be the father of Dan Aschwanden – so Sonoma Valley High was plugged in as the Governor dealt with the blowback when his proposed budget became public.

After a barrage of denunciations from the Aschwandens and other ag educators, Gov. Brown’s office announced May 18 that CTE and FFA funding for the next year had been reinstated.

Karen Ross, of the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said “Governor Brown remains committed to ongoing funding for these programs.”

Ross explained that while one-time funding was used to support these programs in the current year, Gov. Brown will find funding for these programs for 2017-18 and beyond.

Jim Aschwanden praised Gov. Brown and his staff for recognizing the importance of maintaining the program funding.

“The loss of these components of Career Technical Education would have had a devastating effect on programs and teachers statewide,” said Aschwanden. “The students and teachers supported by these programs are pleased that the Governor acted so quickly to resolve this issue.”

SVHS ag teacher Felicia Rush has played a key role in building Sonoma Valley High School’s new sustainable agriculture academy. The new academy has 28 students enrolled this year, and almost a quarter of SVHS students are enrolled in some type of ag class each year.

Rush was very concerned when she thought that funding for the programs was on the chopping block.

Rush said her primary concern was that without funding for such programs, students lose vital enrichment opportunities.

“The leadership skills they learn from attending conferences or the public speaking and communication skills they develop in FFA competitions set them apart from their peers,” said Rush. “Students sign up for CTE courses because they provide more opportunities to develop their potential. If a student is asking to make themselves better we should be able to support that.”

Dan Aschwanden believes that California has “an ever widening skill gap” – and it is direct result of how CTE classes are viewed.

He works alongside SVHS teacher Karling Skoglund, who oversees the high school’s FFA program. Almost 300 Sonoma Valley High students are active in FFA and the club has been highly awarded in recent conferences and competitions, according to Skoglund.

She thinks it would be short-sighted for California not to invest in its areas of employment growth.

Skoglund pointed out that, according to the state Employment Development Department, the fastest growing occupations for California for the years 2014 to 2024 are expected to be brickmason and stonemason, followed by roofers.

“Careers like these require students to have knowledge and background with tools, safety, measurement, and overall practical skills that they explore in their CTE courses in high school,” said Skoglund. “California will not be able to fill those jobs if our students are not given the chance to develop these skills.”

California agriculture generates nearly $50 billion a year, according to government estimates. Student organizations like FFA and high school CTE classes like Sonoma Valley High’s ag academy offer leadership development and training to more than 80,000 students across the state.

Email Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.