Prekindergarten measure on ballot

TALLAHASSEE -- A proposal to provide free prekindergarten for Florida's 4-year-olds has become the eighth proposed constitutional amendment to qualify for the November ballot, state election officials said Tuesday.

The Secretary of State's Office said amendment supporters have collected 512,184 signatures, well above the 488,722 needed. The proposal already has the required Florida Supreme Court approval as to its clarity.

Kindergarten is available to all Florida children, but prekindergarten is currently available only to those who can afford it or who qualify for federal poverty programs. About a third of Florida's 187,000 4-year-olds are enrolled in public prekindergarten. Another 10 to 15 percent are in private programs.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas led the movement to get the proposal on the ballot, with support from the Florida Education Association, the PTA and other organizations.

Gov. Jeb Bush and other critics have said the program would cost too much -- $425-million to $650-million annually, according to estimates of state economists. The proposal says the money cannot be taken from existing education, health and development programs.

"In the long run, we'll find the money we spend on this particular end will save us down the line," said Maureen Dinnen, president of the FEA, the state teachers union. "If you can get to the kids early, early, early, the better off you are."

The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Aug. 30 on whether state cost estimates must accompany citizen initiatives appearing on November's ballot, including the prekindergarten proposal. The Legislature passed a law this year requiring that, but a Leon County trial judge blocked its enforcement this month, saying the Legislature overstepped its constitutional authority.

Bush did not immediately comment Tuesday on the prekindergarten proposal's making the ballot.

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