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Doing pre-K right will cost more

The mandate for pre-K was overwhelming; four years later, the state instead is investing $2,560 per student.

By EDITORIAL
Published June 8, 2006

Florida voters wanted to give 4-year-olds a "high quality" prekindergarten, but lawmakers are still playing low-ball. After being created last year on a shoestring budget, the universal pre-K program won't even keep pace with inflation in its second year. In budgetary terms, this new child is suffering from neglect.

The mandate for pre-K was overwhelming, and virtually every major political figure in Florida, including Gov. Jeb Bush and legislative leaders, supported it. Bush's own Department of Education told voters back in 2002 that the program would cost $4,320 per student, but that "this investment should save the state millions of dollars that otherwise would go to remedial education, the criminal justice system and social services."

Four years later, the state instead is investing $2,560 per student. The schools are not required to employ certified teachers, the school day is only three hours, and teacher-to-pupil ratios are too small. A national early education group has rated the quality as the second worst in the nation.

The consequences of doing pre-K on the cheap are already being felt. Little more than 40 percent of the state's 210,000 eligible 4-year-olds participated this year, and some dropped out after parents became dissatisfied with what their children were receiving. The private schools that do employ certified teachers and offer quality education are losing money if they participate. Said one school owner in Palm Harbor: "If you want to raise the bar, raise the bucks."

Unfortunately, Bush and state lawmakers seem to care about pre-K only to the extent that it delivers education through private school vouchers. Whether the students are learning and progressing is secondary.

Fortunately, others are trying to give 4-year-olds a voice. Early childhood groups and Florida TaxWatch have been pushing for higher quality in pre-K, and a new bipartisan group is raising the issue in the gubernatorial campaign. That group is led by former state Education Eommissioner Betty Castor, a Democrat, and former House Education Chairman Bill Sublette, a Republican. It is calling for certified teachers, longer school days, accurate assessments and better curricula.

"Study after study has shown that students who receive a quality pre-K education perform better," Sublette says. "... It just seems backward not to have a quality pre-K program."

The current approach is indeed backward and an affront to voters. Maybe a new governor and new legislative leaders will decide that 4-year-olds are worth our collective investment.

[Last modified June 8, 2006, 05:43:19]