SALT LAKE CITY — Community education classes take place every day at schools across Salt Lake City, but now that the school district is moving to cancel them, many are pushing to change the decision.
For 10 years, Raj Giandeep has been teaching Kundalini yoga at East High School.
“I just know that I’m helping people find peace within themselves… that’s sometimes challenging to find,” said Giandeep.
He’s now moving out of the school and taking his classes to Dancing Cranes Imports as the Salt Lake City School District ends its community education program after more than 50 years, saying resources are being shifted back to K-12 students.
One of Giandeep's students says she’s heartbroken.
“My heart sank," said yoga student Marissa Papas. "This program has enriched my life and added so much depth. To realize the community is going to be without it… it’s an immense loss.”
Before retiring in 2024, Kathleen Curry-Griffin ran the community eduction program for 30 years.
“What’s disheartening to me is the message that this is just one strand of community classes — but it’s also the revenue we bring into the district… hundreds of thousands of dollars that go back into school programs," she said.
Instructors claim the money made through the community classes helps fund supplies for students.
“I’m able to buy materials — supplies, saw blades — things we need during the school day,” said welding instructor Ted Condie.
For Giandeep, it’s not just his class, it’s a community decades in the making, now coming to an end.
"Thousands of people have come through these classes over the years," he said, "and now it’s just gone.”
While the district had no comment about the end of community classes, those pushing back say they will take their concerns straight to the board at their next meeting on April 14.
