Adult School Loses Money for Two Consecutive Years

The Wayne Adult School has lost more than $62,300 in the previous two school years.

The losses were announced at a Board of Education meeting last week.

The school had an operating loss of more than $25,400 for the 2009-2010 school year. For the 2010-2011 school year, the school had an operating loss of $36,900, resulting in a deficit of more than $27,700, said District Business Administrator Junaita Petty in an e-mail.

The school offers hundreds of personal-enrichment and educational courses every year. It is one of the Wayne School District’s . Others include the Extended Day Program, a before- and after-school care program, the district’s driver’s education program, and Safety Town, a safety course for children entering kindergarten.

Superintendent of Schools Raymond Gonzalez said that he “owes it to Wayne to find out where we are with the adult school and where we are going.”

Gonzalez, , said he is still gathering information about the school.

“Is education of residents from pre-school age into adulthood part of the core values of the school district,” Gonzalez asked. “If it is, which it seems to have been, then we must determine how to best allocate resources to that end. If the answer is no, then that would appear to be contrary to what our mission as educators is.”

Gonzalez said must determine whether or not is it important for the district to continue to offer adult-based education.

“Once we have that answer then we must look at our current resources to see if the way we are meeting that priority is in the most effective way possible,” Gonzalez said.

Pat Brown-Kneisel, the district’s community programs coordinator, did not return messages seeking comment.

Brown-Kneisel replaces Roger Rogalin, who was the coordinator from March through June of this year. Brown-Kneisel was hired in July. Rogalin is now the principal of Packanack Elementary School.

Rogalin said that, traditionally, adult schools tend to offer courses for retirees and senior citizens.

“I was planning on offering more contemporary courses for younger residents, covering topics such as how they can get the most out of their iPads and similar topics,” Rogalin said.

Rogalin said that the school accepted approximately 1,100 registrations for the spring 2011 semester.

“Adult schools are fantastic resources for people,” Rogalin said. “But there’s so many other places and ways people can learn nowadays, especially online.”