‘School-to-Work’ Program Debated at Hearing by Board

COSTA MESA —  Orange County’s “school-to-work” initiative fell under scrutiny again Thursday, with critics calling the program a wasteful federal mandate and backers touting it as a useful means to help students consider careers.

At a hearing here Thursday before the Orange County Board of Education, more than 150 people split into two opposed camps. It was the board’s third and final hearing on the issue this year.

Ken L. Williams Jr., a county education trustee and leading local critic of school-to-work programs, said beforehand that no vote was planned Thursday night. But Williams said the issue may come up when the board considers the education agency’s 1997-98 budget.

At issue is about $4.7 million in funds targeted over five years to help students in scores of Orange County schools establish links with the working world. The program, popular with many schools and business leaders, is known as Vision 2020.

It was spawned by an act of Congress in 1994 and is championed by President Clinton. The idea is to bring students into the workplace and professionals onto campuses in an academic-vocational partnership.

The education agency’s role is mainly technical. Since last spring, it has been the fiscal agent for the program, collecting and disbursing the money.

But Williams and trustee Eric Woolery contend that student participation is or will be mandatory and that any school efforts that stray from basic instruction will dilute academic standards. Proponents vigorously dispute both points.

The two, elected last year, say the board should back out of the coalition and take a stand against big government. However, interviews with trustees on the five-member board have shown that Williams and Woolery are in the minority.