Wednesday, May 29, 2002

Colleges Oppose Elimination of 2 Federal 'Digital Divide' Programs By DAN CARNEVALE Education and civil-rights organizations are planning a national campaign to persuade Congress not to eliminate spending on two federal programs designed to bridge the "digital divide." Colleges play a prominent role in both programs. President Bush has proposed eliminating $47.5-million for Community Technology Centers, run by the Department of Education, and the Technology Opportunities Program, run by the Department of Commerce. The programs offer people who live in inner cities and rural areas access to computers and technology training. The centers are often run by colleges and universities, which receive grants from the federal departments. About 75 organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the American Association of Community Colleges, are participating in a national campaign to stop Congress from approving the president's proposal to eliminate the programs. The Technology Opportunities Program received $45-million in the 2001 fiscal year and was cut to $15-million this year. And the Community Technology Centers received $65-million in the 2001 fiscal year and was cut to $32.5-million this year. The programs would receive no money under Mr. Bush's proposed budget for the 2003 fiscal year. Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a coalition of civil-rights organizations, says the money for the programs is peanuts in relation to the size of the federal budget. "These modest federal investments yield tremendous returns," Mr. Henderson says. "There's substantial support for retaining these programs. The problem is that these are difficult times for the federal budget in general." The campaign was kicked off two weeks ago on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Three senators -- Max Cleland, a Georgia Democrat; Barbara A. Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat; and Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican -- all said they supported the programs. Rallies are to be held over the next six months at sites across the country, organizers say. Mr. Henderson says Congress needs to be made aware that the centers give some people their only opportunity to work with computers and technology. "Our work force is not prepared for the jobs of today, let alone for the jobs of tomorrow," he says. Neal Richman, associate director of the Advanced Policy Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, is in charge of the university's Technology Opportunities Program, which uses technology for community research. He also runs the university's Community Technology Center, which helps low-income residents learn to use technology. The university received $500,000 in grants from the programs in 1998 and used that money to raise $5-million from private donors, including Microsoft and Fannie Mae. Through the Technology Opportunities Program, Mr. Richman has worked in poor neighborhoods in Los Angeles and developed a database that tracks county information, such as unpaid water bills and delinquent-tax records, to identify areas that are in danger of becoming slums. The county government has all the information, Mr. Richman says, but it doesn't analyze the data. "It takes a university to reinterpret those databases," he says. With the Community Technology Center, the university has been able to provide computer training for local residents and businesses. "These anchor institutions can make a big difference, and universities can learn a lot from working with the community," Mr. Richman says. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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