BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — North Florida Technical College’s cosmetology program is closing due to funding and other issues.
College Director Brad Bishop said the program has lost money, but that’s not because the college or school district have decided to move that money elsewhere.
Money allocated through the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) or the Florida Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act cannot be used to offset the cost of operating the cosmetology program. Unfortunately, the program costs now outweigh the funds generated from its operation, Bishop said.
According to Bishop, the cosmetology program does not meet the size, scope or quality that would make it eligible for Perkins Act funding, which is used in training students for high-wage, in-demand jobs. There are very few workforce areas in the state where cosmetology qualifies as high wage, he said. Cosmetology is not on the list of programs that qualify for CAPE Act fund, either.
Tuition costs are determined by the state and sit at $2.88 an hour, despite skyrocketing costs for the supply heavy program, plus salaries, benefits, insurance, etc. Add to that a revised rule that only allows the technical college to charge students for the time they attend the program instead of the total number of hours in the program.
“Certain programs do meet the size, scope and quality, so we can use some of our Perkins funds to support them. I can build a budget to help buy materials and consumables and equipment and those types of things,” Bishop said. “If a student earns certification and (the program) is on the CAPE funding list, 12 months later we get money back for those certifications. But cosmetology is not on that list,”
Superintendent of Schools Will Hartley said as they were meeting to discuss the college’s employee allocations for next year, the performance of the cosmetology program came up and discussions of its closure began.
“At the end of the day, the district’s financial status right now is not a secret, and we’re having to cut places that aren’t viable. So, unfortunately, that was one of them,” Hartley said.
While the reasons are primarily budgetary, Bishop said the cosmetology instructor had also spoken of leaving the program. He said he knew they would face a challenge of finding someone who was an expert in the field and qualified to teach.
The program is closing at the end of the school year, but several of the 15 or so students in the program have already taked advantage of the opportunity to move to programs in St. Augustine and Lake City. Bishop said they are being provided with detailed transcripts transferring their progress to their new schools. Students who don’t complete their work by the end of May will have the same opportunity to transfer.
“I wish the students the best in their future educational and professional endeavors,” Bishop said.
According to the director, the college is always looking for new programs that qualify for the available funding sources, as the nursing and welding programs do. They also have to make sure there is a need for those programs in the local labor market. A Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment is required every two years, and when they can identify a need in the local market, then the college can request state permission to put a new training program in place.
