Resolution In Support of State Funding for Adult School Classes for Older Adults

DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the October 20, 2022 regular meeting.

WHEREAS the California Masterplan for Aging, which seeks to establish “A California for all ages” by 2030, has as one of its goals Inclusion and Equity, not Isolation, for California’s seniors; and

WHEREAS the California Democratic Party Platform for 2022 includes support for Adult Education and Community College programs for life-long learning; and

WHEREAS education programs for older adults are a low-cost, effective way to combat isolation and promote healthy aging that can reduce the likelihood of participants contracting dementia by 18% (American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 155, No.12, June 15, 2002) and can save the state money by improving healthy life expectancy; and

WHEREAS California had, for decades, a robust network of free education opportunities for Older Adults offered through the state’s adult schools and community colleges which was funded by the state, but was completely defunded in adult schools in 2013 and has also been much reduced in the community colleges; and

WHEREAS this network of education opportunities for Older Adults still exists in vestigial form in some community colleges and adult schools and could be brought back in order to fulfill the goals of the Master Plan on Aging.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County recognizes that the State of California needs state-funded educational opportunities for Older Adults in order to fulfill the goals of the California Master Plan on Aging; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County declares support for state funding educational opportunities for older adults through the state’s adult schools and community colleges; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County will review and consider proposed legislation that restores state funding for adult school and community college educational programs for Older Adults.

Submitted by Maria Alegria, Elected Member, District 1 and Kristen Pursley, West County Adult School Teachers United 

Approved by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, October 20, 2022

Resolution in Support of West Contra Costa Adult Education Teachers

DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the October 20, 2022 regular meeting.

WHEREAS teachers in the West Contra Costa Adult Education system provide instruction in High School Diploma, GED and English as a Second Language, classes for Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities, as well as low cost vocational training and a rich variety of low-fee classes responsive to the changing interests and needs of West County residents, all of which contributes to the economic vitality, physical and emotional health, cultural richness, technological aptitude and academic success of West County’s diverse communities; and

WHEREAS Adult School Teachers United, a union representing adult school teachers in the West Contra Costa Adult Education system, was recognized by the Public Employee Relations Board and West Contra Costa Unified School District in 2017; and 

WHEREAS Adult School Teachers United is still bargaining its first contract with West Contra Costa Unified School District, and negotiations in 2022 have ground almost to a halt.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County recognizes that the work of West Contra Costa Adult Education teachers is a crucial resource for West Contra Costa County which greatly enriches the economic and cultural life of the area; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County declares support for adult educators; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County urges the West Contra Costa Unified School District to conclude negotiations for the first contract for West Contra Costa Adult Education teachers with all possible speed.  The Democratic Party of Contra Costa County will make this request in a letter to the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. 

Submitted by Maria Alegria, Elected Member, District 1 and Kristen Pursley, West County Adult School Teachers United 

Approved by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, October 20, 2022

Resolution Saluting School Board Members for Supporting Inclusive and Historically Accurate Instruction for our Students Despite a Coordinated Misinformation Campaign

DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the November 18, 2021 regular meeting.

WHEREAS, the California Democratic Party’s platform calls upon Democrats to “ensure that schoolchildren have current textbooks, including history books that are inclusive and historically accurate” and to “support and fully fund ethnic studies as a required public secondary school course with a curriculum that requires students to critically analyze the impact of all forms of discrimination against vulnerable communities, indigenous communities, and communities of color, while also analyzing social movements to challenge racism, sexism, antisemitism, islamophobia, and all other forms of oppression”; and 

WHEREAS, school board members in Contra Costa County, and around the country, have been targeted for harassment, bullying, and threats of violence by members of the public who have been misled by a coordinated, national effort to conflate Critical Race Theory with culturally relevant teaching or pedagogy, which the California School Boards Association explains aims to nurture students’ intellectual growth, moral development, ability to reason, appreciation of their culture of origin while developing fluency in at least one other culture, and the ability to identify, analyze and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequalities; and 

WHEREAS, members of the public have also been misled by a coordinated, national effort to conflate Critical Race Theory with ethnic studies, which the California School Boards Association explains, “is designed to highlight the often-overlooked history, experiences, and cultures of underrepresented groups, and to build respect and appreciation between students of different backgrounds,” and Governor Gavin Newsom on October 8, 2021, signed into law Assembly Bill 101 to require California students starting with the Class of 2030 to complete an ethnic studies requirement even while our school board members are facing what the Associated Press has called coordinated efforts by a “network of conservative groups with ties to major Republican donors and party-aligned think tanks” to engage in culture war fights designed to intimidate school board members so they can be replaced by radical conservatives;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County salutes school board members for their courage shown in striving to provide our children with a historically and culturally accurate and comprehensive history education; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DPCCC will organize an action plan to urge Democrats to fight the spread of misinformation about ethnic studies requirements and to support our school board members by attending school board meetings, participating in public comment periods, sending e-mail comments, and/or posting on social media expressions of support of our school board members.

Submitted by:

Craig Cheslog, Associate Member, District 5