Pre-school funding, that's what. And that's a shame because currently, less than 20 percent of American 4-year olds have access to free, public education. Christina Satkowski writes at Early Ed Watch:
This is the first time in four years...that the number of governors recommending pre-k spending increases has declined. Four governors have balked at red lines on their balance sheets and proposed decreasing funding for pre-k. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) made an across-the-board cut of 10 percent to all government agencies, including a $28.5 million cut to the state's struggling preschool program.
Even some governors in states with rosier budget scenarios are still turning their backs on deserving preschoolers. Montana this year has a budget surplus of $125 million--more than enough to provide pre-k for every three- and four-year-old in the state. Yet instead of using this money to invest in early education, Montana and Wyoming (another state with a healthy surplus) will remain among the twelve states that have no pre-k program.
The most aggressive governors when it comes to increasing pre-k funding are Alabama's Bob Riley (R) and Massachusetts' Deval Patrick (D). But legislators in those states are trying to scale back gubernatorial pre-k initiatives in the face of state budget deficits. What's the solution?
First, as Satkowski writes, states can include pre-k funding in their K-12 education budgets. That makes sense both in terms of the legislative process and in terms of what educational research tells us about how young children learn -- namely that pre-k should be viewed as part of the kindergarten through third grade continuum. Secondly, the federal government can play a much larger role. Hillary Clinton's national pre-k program would provide states with federal funds to create universal schooling for 4-year olds. Tuition would be free for low income and English-language-learner students. Barack Obama's plan would also provide states with federal funding and encourage them to build pre-k programs around the Illinois model, which provides voluntary public schooling for "at risk" 3-year olds and all 4-year olds in the state.
--Dana Goldstein
