Thread: Education Department ends program for Hispanic students

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 174658.htm

Posted on Tue, Aug. 01, 2006

Education Department may end program for Hispanic students


By Michelle Mittelstadt

The Dallas Morning News

(MCT)

WASHINGTON - A multimillion-dollar federal grant for a program that steers low-income Hispanic students in Dallas and 16 other cities toward college is on the verge of termination, the League of United Latin American Citizens announced Tuesday.

Nearly 2,500 students in the Dallas area have come through the doors of the LULAC National Educational Service Center in Oak Cliff, Texas, during the past four years, getting academic counseling and advice about selecting a college, and filling out applications and financial aid forms.

Similar centers in seven other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have helped 52,542 students over the past four years, LULAC says.

The counseling and other programs at the centers - including English-language courses for parents, computer classes and student leadership training - are in jeopardy as a result of the Education Department's apparent decision to cease its 27-year relationship with LULAC, the organization's officials said.

"They are getting a great bargain by contracting with us. We are just flabbergasted that they are thinking about not funding us," said Rey de los Santos, director of the Oak Cliff center.

The Education Department wouldn't confirm that it is ending its $3.4 million annual grant to LULAC - the largest recipient of Talent Search Program funding. Official notification of the grant awards isn't expected until later this week, said Education Department spokesman Jim Bradshaw, who declined to discuss LULAC's status.

But Matthew Looney, national development coordinator for the LULAC centers, said organization officials have been unofficially notified that their funding is being terminated for the upcoming four-year grant cycle. And with the Education Department's grant accounting for two-thirds of the program's budget, it will be very hard to replace that money, he said.

"We are currently exploring ways to downsize each of the centers and see over the next 30, 60, 90 days what kind of operations we can maintain," Looney said. "Certainly, some of the markets will close outright. And some that are able to secure funds at the local level and the national level will be able to remain open in some form - but they will not be able to serve a fraction of the students they are currently serving."

The centers do what many school districts can't, de los Santos and other LULAC officials said. "It's not their fault. It's just that they can't get to everybody," he said.

LULAC is making a last-ditch effort to restore the grant.

"We are working with congressional allies and anybody, really, who is willing to listen to us and see how we can attempt to reverse this process," Looney said.

Another one of those LaRaza organizations receiving taxpayer grants.

"They are getting a great bargain by contracting with us. We are just flabbergasted that they are thinking about not funding us," said Rey de los Santos, director of the Oak Cliff center.

Get used to it, the free ride is coming to an end.

WavTek,

Get used to it, the free ride is coming to an end.

Amen...well said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 192110.htm

Posted on Thu, Aug. 03, 2006


Centers that counsel Hispanic students lose federal funding


By Michelle Mittelstadt

The Dallas Morning News

(MCT)

WASHINGTON - LULAC-run centers around the U.S. that counsel low-income Hispanic students on getting into college have lost their federal funding, jeopardizing future operations.

The Education Department on Thursday officially notified the League of United Latin American Citizens that its request for $3.4 million in federal grants was denied. That decision ends the government's 27-year relationship with the LULAC National Educational Service Centers, which operate in 17 cities.

The announcement disappointed LULAC officials, who had applied for funds for the existing centers and sought to open facilities in eight other cities.

"We are outraged as to how this could happen and we can't imagine what their justification really could be," said Matthew Looney, national development coordinator for the centers.

LULAC's grant applications fell below the cutoff score necessary for funding, Education Department spokesman Trey Ditto said. That means the group will be ineligible for the federal program during the next four years.

There were 753 applicants nationwide seeking a share of the $136 million in Talent Search grants given out for next year, 450 of which were funded.

Applicants had to score 98.6 or better on a 100-point scale - and LULAC's application fell well below that cutoff, officials said. The organization's application was below 60 on all three evaluators' reviews.

"The fact that LULAC scored below the threshold means that they did not meet the requirements of the panel," Ditto said.

LULAC officials were puzzled by the low scores, noting that in the last funding cycle they'd scored 100. While the grant process is now closed, Looney said LULAC would press its case with Congress, the White House and others. "I don't think it's the end of the road," he said.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn has talked to the Education Department about LULAC's bid and "stands by to assist in any way that he can," spokesman Brian Walsh said.

In the past four years, the LULAC centers have assisted 52,542 students with college counseling, financial aid and admissions applications. With federal funds accounting for two-thirds of the centers' budgets, they will be hard-pressed to continue with the student counseling as well as services such as English-language classes for parents, Looney said.

But he said LULAC is in discussions with corporate partners and foundations to make up for the loss of federal funding.

In addition to five Texas locations, LULAC operates centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pomona, Calif.; Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colo.; Miami; Chicago; Kansas City, Mo.; Albuquerque; Philadelphia; and Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

A multimillion-dollar federal grant for a program that steers low-income Hispanic students

What about helping to steer the low-incme White and Black students? This is what bothers me. These taxpayer grants are given to these Hispanic organizations (LULAC and LaRaza) solely to promote illegal immigration. Knowing how our Government operates, these organizations are probably never held accountable for how these grants are spent.

ends the government's 27-year relationship with the LULAC National Educational Service Centers

Free ride is over. Now go and work for the money to steer those low-income Hispanic students.