lose U

she would release hard copies of AJE's
budgets from the past 10 years, but
she was not able to provide them in
time for publication.
According to Gelberd, $140,000 is
budgeted for adult education this year
(which includes the Midrasha library),
$410,00 for school services, $340,000
for Jewish Experiences For Families,

$178,000 for special education and
$122,000 for teen , programming. The
figures include total overhead costs,
which are distributed proportionately
among each program, he said.
Although the annual budget must
be approved by AJE's board, former
staff members speaking on condition
of anonymity accuse Gelberd of pay-
ing only lip service to adult education
and of raiding certain program bud-
gets to pay for other program expens-
es, often without notifying the pro-
gram coordinator.
Former executive committee mem-
ber Richard Barr said he and others
developed a more stringent budget
review policy last year because "there
had been several occurrences where
there had been budget transfers made
unilaterally by Howard in which he
didn't consult with the board."
Staff turnover at Midrasha, like all
AJE departments, has been high in
recent years. Since 1992, there have
been four coordinators: Nancy
Kaplan, Robert Nosanchuk, Naomi
Blumenberg and Phillips.
One community leader said that
while the AJE does "great stuff, adult
education is not really an AJE priori-
ty." Speculating that the low commit-
ment stems from a fear of jeopardizing
funding for other AJE programs, he

0/31
1997

86

suggested that the responsibility for
the Midrasha be transferred to an
independent agency, formed specifical-
ly for the purpose of promoting adult
education.
The AJE's immediate past presi-
dent, Barbara Klarman, agrees that the
Midrasha and its deteriorating library
have received little agency attention
but says this reflects the low prior-
ity Federation accords adult edu-
cation.
"Is adult learning one of the
[AJE's] weakest links? I think

are courses
enr°
s eme s ter- onoutreach
through Ivlidrast(a . Between' 20-30

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P ig
Pr°
li1ixgj thntsa It rends: "We've seen a real
blossoming in adult learning in the

that's probably true," said Klarman,
who continues to serve on the AJE's
executive committee. "I don't think
adult education scored high on
Federation's list of community priori-
ties. They thought teen programming
was more important."
Klarman is sorry the Midrasha's
Judaic studies offerings have dimin-
ished, because Midrasha offers "one
place in the community where plural-
ism and diversity can take hold, but
she adds that more courses are now
being offered through synagogues and

as definitely ange
e of the St, Louis Jewish
community, says adult education
director Esther Ziinand. The pro-
gram really sells itself The majority
of smdents who return to our class-
es are the Melton graduates --
many times they bring friends, too,"
She also observes that long-term

other Jewish organizations. She also
mentioned that the Midrasha will be
able to serve as a clearinghouse for the
community's education providers if
the grant is approved.
(Randie Levin, the Federation staff
person responsible for the proposal,
was on vacation at press time and
could not provide information about
its status.)
Despite rumors that Gelberd has
withdrawn the proposal, fearing it will
jeopardize funding for other AJE pro-
jects, both Mindell and Klarman say

Vr4,
into a u t ecru

; ' \,4ian
n n iwk
thTlelg
director r Pofian
Federation for Jewish Service. "Nirost
programs come through the syna-
gogues."
--compiled by Julie Wiener

