Funding cuts hit close to home

By Mary Pankow

     When funding is cut, the service provider is not the only one to suffer. Those who stand to lose the most are the people who utilize that particular service. Such is the case for the L.K. Painter Community Center in Collins and participants in the Well-Educated People (WEP) program, a long-standing complement to the Center's GED program.

     Federally funded through the State Education Department, WEP provides GED and educational support to individuals and their families, thereby increasing their quality of life and improving their marketability in the work force.

     The program was expected to begin on Sept. 1 and run for 10 months at a cost of $41,000. Anticipated federal reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act and a grant period extension would have established a multi-year contract at $49,000 per year.

     In August, another WEP provider, Erie 2CC BOCES, was notified that funding would not be forthcoming. This verbal communication with BOCES spelled doom the Painter Center's program as well.

     Lin Pryor, executive director of the L.K. Painter Center, and his staff are devastated by this news. Losing a core program such as WEP has a trickle-down effect on hundreds of area families. Aside from losing GED, the WEP program funding enabled the Center to provide technology resources. The computers, for the most part, now stand idle.

     The most dramatic effect the funding cut has had has been on the GED portion of the program. Those who anticipated obtaining their equivalent of a high school diploma, and learning additional skills to enhance their employment opportunities will now be forced to look elsewhere for help. And, since funding is nonexistent for Erie 2CC BOCES and the Painter Center, GED hopefuls will have to travel north. Nothing south of Orchard Park was funded.

     According to Pryor, approximately 75 individuals utilize the GED program each year, a substantial number given the rural area from which the Center draws. The GED success rate for the Center has also been satisfactory, adding to the stunned frustration felt by Pryor and his staff.

     It is assumed that Erie County received monies comparable to last year. However, the areas to the north - notably Buffalo - appear to have benefited while those to the south are suffering.

     Basic educational opportunities, vocational skills enhancement and technology training at the Painter Center are in limbo. To regenerate these popular programs, funding is needed. The Center has basically lost a fourth of its budget, but the area's loss cannot be measured in dollars. As business people know, increased work force skills mean increased productivity. Those who improve their knowledge feel better about themselves and that translates into better quality of life for them and their families.

     Without WEP and GED, southern-tier residents, employers and potential employees are at varying degrees of stagnation. Knowledge may be power, but as the Painter Center struggles to comprehend the financial dilemma thrust upon it, Pryor and staff feel as powerless as those they had yet to help.

     Pryor's plea to area residents is to write to elected officials, "express your concern, ask that funding be restored."

     To express your concern over funding cuts,
write to the following:

NYS Assembly
   *    Richard A. Smith - 146th District, 3812 South Park Ave., Blasdell, NY 14219
   *    Catherine M. Young - 149th District, 700 Westgate Plaza, West State St., Olean, NY 14760

Erie County Executive
   *    Joel A. Giambra, Edward A. Rath County Office Building, 95 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY 14202

Erie County Legislature
   *    Steven P. McCarville - District 13 - R, 158 Quaker Rd., Suite A., East Aurora, NY 14052.
E-mail: mccarville13th@aol.com
   *    Jeanne Z. Chase - District 12 - R, 184 Buffalo St., Hamburg, NY 14075.
E-mail: jchase@buffnet.net

Cattaraugus County Legislature
   *    E. James Ellis - District 2 - R, 7869 Ellis Rd., Cattaraugus, NY 14719
   *    Crystal J. Abers - District 1 - R, 9822 Mosher Rd., South Dayton, NY 14138
   *    Elliot J. Ellis Jr. - District 2 - R, 9979 New Albion Rd., Cattaraugus, NY 14719
   *    Charles G. Krause - District 8 - R, 6116 Fairview Lane, Great Valley, NY 14741

U.S. Senate
   *    Sen. Charles Schumer - D-NY, Rm. 620 111 W. Huron St., Buffalo, NY 14202.
E-mail: senator@schumer.senate.gov
   *    Sen. Hillary Clinton - D-NY, 28 Church St., Suite 208, Buffalo, NY 14202.
E-mail: senator@clinton.senate.gov

U.S. House of Representatives
   *    Rep. Jack Quinn R-NY 27, 403 Main St., #240, Buffalo, NY 14203.
E-mail: www-house.gov/quinn (click on e-mail)
   *    Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds - R-NY 26, 500 Essjay Rd., Ste. 260, Williamsville, NY 14221.
E-mail: www.house.gov/reynolds (click on e-mail)

NYS Governor
   *    Gov. George Pataki, Executive Chamber, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224.
E-mail: gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us    *    Lt. Gov. Mary Donahue, Executive Chamber, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224

NY Senate
   *    Sen. Dale M. Volker - 59th District, 4729 Transit Rd., Suite 6, Depew, NY 14043.
E-mail: volker@senate.state.ny.us
   *    Sen. Patricia K. McGee - 57th District, Westgate Plaza, 700 West State St., Olean, NY 14760.
E-mail: mcgee@senate.state.ny.us