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California Voters Take Up Universal Preschool
Published: May 1, 2006
by: Lynlee Murray

In California, the upcoming June 6 statewide election includes a ballot question, Proposition 82, that would raise $2.4 billion to provide voluntary, free preschool to all four-year-olds in the state by 2010. It would be funded by a 1.7% tax increase on individuals earning above $400,000 a year and couples earning above $800,000. The program would:
• offer preschool three hours a day, 180 days a year.
• raise teacher salaries, provide support for teachers going back to school, and pay for facilities.
• require participating head teachers to get a BA in Early Childhood Education and an early learning credential by 2016.
• be run by county superintendents of schools who could contract with quality preschool programs, including school districts, centers, family child care homes.

Supporters say:
• Children—and society—would benefit: When children go to preschool, they do better in school and are less likely to be unemployed as adults, says Marie Condron of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. "There is so much research about how much the brain develops from (ages) 0-5. You get a much higher return when you put money in for kids when they are young," adds Susana Cooper of Preschool California. Florida, Georgia, and
Oklahoma already offer free preschool for all children. A RAND report found that every dollar spent on quality preschool saves more than $2.50 later. "The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without a national child care program," adds child care teacher Mary
Malesani.
• Preschool should be free for everyone: "We see this as a civil right," says Diane Ujiiye of the Asian and Pacific Islanders California Action Network. "Those who are very, very poor and very, very rich can go to preschool and those in the middle are struggling. It's crucial that all children start at the same point." And the public is more likely to insist on adequate funding for universal programs.
• Parents would save money: LA's partial-day universal preschool program reduced what parents pay for all-day care by as much as $400 a month, says Peter Shakow of Los Angeles Universal Preschool.
• Teachers and providers would be paid more: "Preschool teachers would be paid the same as kindergarten teachers," says Malesani. "A lot of (teachers) are not making a living wage," adds Cooper. "(This) will allow them to get a BA and there's a higher salary waiting for them."
• BA requirement would benefit kids: Studies show that well-educated teachers provide better preschool instruction, says Preschool California. "Don't let going back to school be a barrier. There's going to be money set aside for us," says Marva Lyons of the California Association for Family Child Care.
• Existing preschools could participate: "Parents (would) have a choice on where their kids go to school," says Cooper.

Supporters: Preschool CA, CA Association for the Education of Young Children, CA Association for Family Child Care, Child Development Policy Institute, AAP-CA, CA Teachers Association, National Council of La Raza, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People-CA, LA Chamber of Commerce. For more info: Preschool CA.

Opponents say:
•Children would be hurt: "Social and emotional development (is important) to the school
success of all children," says child care consultant Jean Monroe. "State guidelines for preschool are not developmentally appropriate. There is no reason to believe it would provide an appropriate program for preschool-aged children. (And it's not) only one year before kindergarten that matters."
•K-12 should get the money: "We should be working on K-12 first," says Kathy Fairbanks of the California Chamber of Commerce. The measure would "spend almost as much for half a day of preschool as a full day of K-12."
•Program should target poor families: Most of the funds "would (help) affluent parents who can easily pay for preschool," says Bruce Fuller, professor at UC Berkeley. "What's needed is a statewide fund (for) needy families."
•BA requirement would hurt providers—and kids: "This really scares me," says Monroe. "We are going back to a system where most teachers are white and most assistants are people of color" because people of color are more likely to encounter barriers that make it harder to get a degree. "Inability to understand, appreciate, and respect children's home language is academic incompetence," she adds. "For some family child care providers it's not feasible," says Ujiiye. "(They can't) attend school while others work." Having a BA "does not guarantee a passion for educating young children," says Tommie Hollis of the Kern County African American Child Care Association. "Caring for children for 14 years makes (current) providers professionals."
•Existing preschools would be hurt: "About 60% of preschoolers attend an unsubsidized program," says Fuller. "These will not survive when the public school around the corner opens up a free program, serving even wealthy parents."
•Don't tax just one group: "Upping the tax rate for the wealthy is not the answer, a fair tax rate for everybody is," says Hollis.
•"English-only" preschool? Critics worry that Prop 227 (which requires public schools to be taught "overwhelmingly" in English) would apply, but there's no "legal wording" saying that, says Cooper. Fuller argues that PFA "invites conservative groups to push the English-only mandate into the lives of four-year-olds."

Opponents: CA Chamber of Commerce, CA Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, CA Retailers Association, Southern CA Black Chamber of Commerce, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Association of Christian Schools International, CA Parents for Educational Choice. For info: Stop the Reiner Initiative.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:12 PM