Career and Technical Education

FACS, art, agriculture or shop classes may be viewed as unnecessary and fun high school elective options, but these classes are important in developing students’ skills for the future. Every student has the opportunity to choose what classes they take in high school, but vital Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes are being cut, depriving students of the skills they’ll need when the graduate. Federal funding for the Carl D. Perkins Act should be increased to meet the demand and necessity for secondary and postsecondary CTE. First we will learn what hurdles Congress and the President have faced in developing a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2014, and then we will discover a solution to the lack in Perkins funding.

Federally, the Carl D. Perkins Act is receiving less funding, hurting students and workforces benefited by CTE. Federal funding has seen much turmoil due to conflicts within Congress, and the effects are harming CTE. In the past few years between Fiscal Year 2011 and 2013, over $195 million have been cut from Perkins funding that keeps CTE programs in secondary and postsecondary afloat (2). Funding cuts developed as a result of Congress and Obama’s attempt “to reduce our deficit by more than $2.5 trillion through a combination of spending cuts and increased tax rates” (5). The “sequester,” automatic budget cuts of $1 trillion across the board, implemented in March 2013 after the failure of lawmakers to agree on a plan to reduce our nation’s deficit (5). Job-openings in the next decade will require a skilled workforce, but cutting CTE only limits the capability to meet such demands. Removing Perkins--the primary source of funding for CTE--will prove detrimental to our future economy and workforce, because Perkins b...

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...nding cuts “hurt our economy, slow our recovery, [and] put people out of work,” an increase in Perkins funding would be supported and embraced (5).High-demand areas like “engineering, information technology, advanced manufacturing and healthcare” would be supported and developed by CTE, ultimately strengthening our workforce and economy (3).

CTE is vital in developing a skilled and prepared workforce, but has faced setbacks due to federal funding. A revival of understanding and support for The Perkins Act would make CTE more readily available to students nationwide. Federal funding for the Carl D. Perkins Act should be increased to meet the demand and necessity for secondary and postsecondary CTE. Although some of those fun elective classes in high school may fit into your schedule on an extra-space basis, these are the courses that better prepare us for our future.