November 12, 2007: Preschool hailed but who's to pay?

11/12/07 By Marla A. Goldberg

Longmeadow legislator Mary Rogeness says that the prospect of setting aside a large sum for universal pre-kindergarten in the near future is dim.

Many legislators and educators across Massachusetts are joined in the belief that universal pre-kindergarten could yield benefits for the state's children.

But a major question looms: where will the money come from to pay for it?

"I suspect it will be a combination of sources," said Bridgewater State College President Dana Mohler-Faria, education adviser to Gov. Deval L. Patrick, last week.

An estimate from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies last fall set a price of $600 million annually for Massachusetts to make high-quality pre-kindergarten available to all 3- and 4-year-olds, or about $3,000 per child, in addition to existing subsidies.

The figure, based on an 82-percent participation rate, includes at least one teacher with a bachelor's degree per classroom or family child care, plus well-qualified assistants and child health and dental screening. Economists used several sources to arrive at the $600 million figure, including a household survey to measure demand, statistics on teacher-to-child ratios, and pre-kindergarten teacher salary figures.

"Early education is important; I think everybody agrees with that," said State Rep. Mary S. Rogeness, R-Longmeadow, who sits on the Joint Committee on Children and Families.

However, she said that the prospect of setting aside a large sum for universal pre-kindergarten in the near future is not good.

Patrick's administration has predicted a $600 million shortfall for fiscal 2009, Rogeness said, and cities and towns are unlikely to raise pre-kindergarten funds on their own.

Narrowly passed

"The town that I live in, Longmeadow, very narrowly passed an override, just to fund the school system that we have," she said. "The experience that I've had with the communities I represent ... there's just not the local money to make that substantial addition to the curriculum."

Patrick outlined a major education reform plan called the "Readiness Project" last June, which includes universal pre-kindergarten.

Such initiatives are under way in several states, prompted by skyrocketing child care costs, and years of research indicating that children who attend good preschools are better prepared for kindergarten, while learning or behavioral problems can often be minimized if detected early.

Libby B. Doggett, executive director of Pre-K Now in Washington, D.C., said states including Georgia and North Carolina are using specially designated lottery funds to support pre-kindergarten, while Missouri is relying on gambling revenues, with limited success.

"The revenue (in Missouri) is not stable, and the program hasn't grown," she said.

Pre-K Now anticipates passage of federal legislation this year to support universal pre-kindergarten, but Doggett said the bulk of costs will still fall on the states. To ensure a stable funding stream, Pre-K Now argues that states should fold pre-kindergarten costs into public school funding formulas.

"It's time for states to prioritize children," Doggett said.

Significant return

Massachusetts taxpayers could realize a significant return on their investment, according to the Boston-based Early Education for All Campaign. Children who receive high-quality early education are 40-percent less likely to a repeat a grade, 30-percent more likely to graduate from high school, and more than twice as likely to go to college, a recent report stated.

As adults, such children have higher median annual earnings, and are more likely to own homes.

In 2005, according to Early Education for All, there were almost 240,000 children in Massachusetts between 3 and 5 years old, including just over 30,000 in the western counties.

Meanwhile, the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University found that children who attend high-quality state-funded preschool programs in Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia experienced 31-percent growth in vocabulary skills, along with a 44-percent increase in early mathematical skills, and an 85-percent gain in printed-word awareness.

Early Education for All has suggested that Massachusetts phase-in investments in universal pre-kindergarten over five years, focusing first on low-income children. Steps have been taken toward that end, and funds to
launch the initiative rose from $4.6 million in fiscal 2007 to $7.1 million for fiscal 2008.

Meanwhile, state investment in Head Start rose from $8.5 to $9 million.

Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start Inc., along with Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin Regions Inc., are among 131 child care agencies which received fiscal 2007 quality grants from the Department of Early Education and Care.

The Center for Labor Market Studies' associate director, Paul A. Harrington, has suggested that Head Start facilities and private child care providers could "opt-in" to a program of state standards, entitling them to additional funds.

In Springfield, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation is leading a coalition which hopes to bring universal pre-kindergarten to the city. The foundation's Cherish Every Child Initiative is organizing an invitation-only conference at the Basketball Hall of Fame to discuss early education and workforce development with business community leaders on Nov. 19.