After 54 years of evening classes and school-run child care, Salt Lake City School District is shutting down its Community Education program this summer, leaving families and staff scrambling to figure out what comes next.
The district notified roughly 50 employees on March 1 that the program would end, and officials say the wind-down will begin in July. For parents who have relied on evening instruction and district-operated child care to cover late work shifts, the news lands with an especially sharp edge.
According to KSL TV, district leaders chose to cancel the long-running program and informed staff of the change in early March. KSL’s video story notes that the move hits classes that have been embedded in the district for more than five decades.
What the program covers
The Community Education department currently oversees after-school care at elementary and middle schools, summer learning options, and evening adult-education and enrichment classes hosted at high school community learning centers. As described by the Salt Lake City School District, those high school offerings are typically held at East, West, and Highland high schools, with programs sustained by tuition, registrations and occasional grants…