Opinion: Florida's pre-K promises unkept

Imagine, for a moment, Florida lawmakers answering angry property owners this year with a law that sets an "aspirational goal" of lowering property taxes over the next decade. Would they dare, upon returning to their home districts, show their faces in public?

That, however, is precisely how legislators responded two years ago to a public mandate for prekindergarten. Now Florida is being judged as one of the nation's worst pre-K programs, what one national expert called a "poster child" for spreading standards and money too thin. And where is the political will to help 4-year-olds?

Six former governors are asking this question, and all Floridians deserve an answer. The constitutional amendment that established free and universal pre-K went so far as to include the words "high quality," a description that may have seemed gratuitous given the broad bipartisan support at the time. But talk, it turns out, was cheap. Lawmakers responded with a three-hour-a-day program and an "aspirational goal" of employing certified teachers. The money per student this year, $2,560, ranks Florida 35th of 38 states with pre-K.

What makes this neglect all the more curious is the way key legislative leaders, state education officials and former Gov. Jeb Bush supported the initiative as it went to voters in 2002. The Department of Education even produced brochures explaining how much money would be saved by investing in children when they are young and most educationally impressionable. DOE also informed voters the cost would be roughly $4,320 per student. Adjusted for inflation, the state now spends half that.

As the legislative session got under way last month, key education leaders in the House and Senate told reporters they did not foresee any improvements for prekindergarten this year. Indeed the proposed budgets alone are insulting enough, one offering a 2 percent increase and the other a 3.7 percent increase. Neither really keeps pace with inflation, much less provides the kind of compensation necessary for teachers with university degrees.

Prekindergarten ought to be the kind of endeavor on which all Floridians and their political leaders can agree. Groups as diverse as the National Institute for Early Education Research and Florida TaxWatch are strong supporters, and the former governors who signed a letter calling for the state to live up to the 2002 mandate represent both parties and a range of political ideologies.

Gov. Charlie Crist said he would have gladly signed his name as well. That's encouraging, but not enough. The owners of homesteads and businesses who have been fighting for tax relief have managed to be heard in the state Capitol. The 4-year-olds have not.

Crist has shown he can pull lawmakers together to work on common causes, and no one can deny the educational virtues of prekindergarten. Florida families voted for "high quality" pre-K, and the state has yet to deliver on that promise. Maybe this new and unfailingly optimistic governor can lead the way.

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Comments on this article

by Sal	01/26/08 07:25 AM
Spending tax money on the average 4 year old is a nice luxury when it can be afforded. Investing in a higher quality education for REAL school age kids should be a mandate.

by Gregg	04/13/07 11:03 PM
The public education system needs to have a stable tax base which the sales tax is not. What needs to be done is too remove, with the exception of taxes on food and medicine, all the exceptions that are given. Then you could lower property taxes.

by John	04/12/07 04:58 AM
The state will be a rich retirement playground with no children if taxes keep going up. What we need is to eliminate property taxes and go to a state sales tax model. Speaker of the House Marco Rubio has the right plan. It would keep educat. funds ^

by Jennifer	04/11/07 04:21 PM
The VPK has the potential to be a wonderful initiative for our youth. we need to stop worrying about taxes and start worrying about our future. These kids will be taking care of us and running our government when we are old.

by Jack J.	04/10/07 01:45 PM
We should freeze regular teachers pay. It has gone up way too fast lately. Other occupations has not seen that type of increase. Use some of the savings for pre-k teachers. Florida has low pay for almost all jobs, teacher should not be exception.

by John	04/10/07 01:36 PM
Since kids are so important to Florida's future, parents need to do much, much more. Take responsibility. Kids need more studying & working harder and less of the fun time, partying, television, going out, ect.. Look at other countries & their kids.

by mr. bill	04/10/07 12:16 AM
Who decides what is a thoughtful comment? Those who are trying to push degreed teachers down the taxpayers throat?

by mr bill	04/10/07 12:09 AM
We should wait to see the outcome of the D.O.E's September kindergarten assesments. degreed teachers aren't doing so well with our kids in public schools now, are they? Our present budget is $400 million. Can our tax payers afford a billion or two?

by Edna	04/09/07 11:10 PM
Why do you need a college degree to teach 4-year-olds? Does the major matter? Is a BA accountant automatically better than someone whose been working with children more than 15 years? Higher standards, yes, but let's make them ones that make sense

by Donna	04/09/07 10:36 PM
There is no more important issuein Fl than the future of our children. We need degreed teachers and full day classes for the pre-k programs. Our children deserve nothing less. The money will be well spent.

by Julie	04/09/07 08:18 PM
High Quality is the Key! As a VPK provider we need to see funding for set up costs, materials and scholarships. Please Help!

by Rob	04/09/07 06:30 PM
Yes, well 4 year olds may not be heard in the state Capitol like homesteaders and businesses but they're not paying taxes either. No one can deny the educational virtues of prekindergarten? Who told these people to multiply on someone elses dime, hm?

by Dan	04/09/07 05:04 PM
Linda, I would rather parents take little responsibilty for their own offspring as I do for mine. Then I can keep my tax dollars. I have worked w/ high schoolers who can't read or write thanks to our current system. Face it, our system needs help.

by Kevin	04/09/07 05:00 PM
C'mon SPTIMES education is an old issue...at least that is what your editorial board said in 2004...why bother writing this editorial now?? It is too little too late, again.

by Linda McArtor	04/09/07 04:23 PM
I was one of the original Head start teeachers in the 60's. The reason for certification is that a teacher needs to know how to do lesson plans.be aware of development stages for children , cultual diveristy,etc all things that are taught in class

by John	04/09/07 03:48 PM
If you want to keep kids out of jail, parents need to be more strict with children. Spanked the crap out of them if they get out of line. What is really lacking is discipline not money. These tax & spend democrats think throwing money solves everythi

by John	04/09/07 03:42 PM
Throwing money at it is not the answer. China has some of the best educational systems yet they use a fraction of our school budgets. Discipline, school learning ethics and parent involvement must get much better here. Less partying & more studying

by Doroth y	04/09/07 03:27 PM
Is is disgraceful that we do not take care of all our children, and the Pre K is the most teachable as well as vulnerable.

by Bob	04/09/07 12:47 PM
Dan,Let's start thinking about our children's future and not worry about the govt paying for child care 1 yr earlier. We are tax-payers and our money should be use for quality Pre-k programs.

by Jacqueline	04/09/07 12:30 PM
We need to get more serious about quality Pre-k programs and who's teaching our kids. If we would have done this years ago maybe some of youth would not be in prison now. Why are degrees needed to run support groups but not to teach our children?

by Linda	04/09/07 11:46 AM
Dan,apparently, you would rather we put your tax dollars in to building jails/prisons rather than funding quality Pre-k programs which could help reduce the number of juvenile offenders who may become adult prison inmates?

by Mary	04/09/07 11:08 AM
If we are serious about high-quality PK programs, we would ensure that certified teachers are in the classroom to instruct them. The 3-hour program is a farce and does little to ameliorate the educational deficits many students come with.

by Dan	04/09/07 10:05 AM
The kid is 4. The kid should be learning at home. And if you pay for a daycare, shouldn't they be teaching the kids instead of using more of my tax dollars to fund education? Looks like people want govt to start paying for child care 1 yr earlier.

by Dave	04/09/07 09:30 AM
Tom, I have a 4-year old in VPK and my wife is a certified teacher. I think you are wrong. Do you have any proof on which to base your "highly speculative" and "silly" comments? Oh...

by jim	04/09/07 09:17 AM
allowing advocates to propose constitutional amendments absent any means to pay the expenses of their proposed initiatives is no more sensible than legislators attempting the same. We'd shun our elected representatives for such shenannigans!

by Tom	04/09/07 05:51 AM
It's a silly, expensive notion to believe that only teachers with university degrees are qualified to teach four-year olds. The research cited to support this idea is flimsy, highly speculative and based on other faulty research findings.