Preschool’s latest recession victims.
WASHINGTON – The recession quieted years of progress in America’s preschools, a problem only likely to worsen as states come to terms with gutted tax rolls, according to a study released this week.
Although most states still boosted public pre-K enrollment during the 2008-09 school year, the period of the survey, growth slowed in quality, access and public funding, as found in The State of Preschool 2009, an annual report by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
Of the 38 states offering pre-K programs, 29 actually served more kids, the researchers wrote. Eight states raised standards, while three lost ground, and funding per child averaged $4,143 when adjusted for inflation, a slight decrease from $4,179 the previous year.
In total, it’s a pretty mixed bag, researchers conceded Tuesday.
But that was before the state budget debacle known as Fiscal Year 2010, they said. State lawmakers started the year having to make up more than $145 billion in budget deficits last year, only to see revenue holes explode months later, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“Children are caught in a squeeze play,” said W. Steven Barnett, co-director for the Rutgers -based think tank. “States will have to set priorities and make tough decisions.”
Early childhood education, usually associated with 3- and 4-year-olds, has never grabbed the same attention as No Child Left Behind or mass school closures. Advocates measure funding in millions – not billions – of dollars, and some parts of the country view it as a form of day care rather than schooling.
But many in education reform, including its chief Democratic supporter in the Senate, said it’s the secret to boosting student achievement. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, has made it a pet project as he tries to rewrite the nation’s main education law. The statute, titled the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, makes no mention of preschool.
“We’re always playing catch-up ball,” Harkin said at a Senate panel last month on education funding. “And one of the reasons we play so much catch-up is that we don’t put a lot of emphasis on the time when kids’ brains are developing the most, and that’s from birth to five.”
There’s little sign of improvement.
State lawmakers across the country have turned to early education as a way to trim underfunded budgets. New Mexico already cut 13 percent of prekindergarten appropriations for next year and Arizona is considering zeroing out early education dollars.
In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn proposed a cut of more than $54 million from the state’s 2010 budget.
Officials already slashed the program by 10 percent to $342 million for the current fiscal year. The Illinois State Board of Education estimates there would be 30,000 fewer kids in state preschools next year than in 2009 if Quinn’s proposal clears the state legislature.
“It was extraordinarily difficult,” said agency spokeswoman Mary Fergus. “It was a very tough budget year last year, and it was a very tough budget year this year.”
The study also found that funding, and expectations, varied widely from state to state. Texas topped the list with $760 million in state dollars and Nevada placed last at $3.3 million. The numbers come before federal programs for low-income children.
For things to change, Barnett said, there needs to be more stewardship from the federal government. Department of Education stimulus dollars have served as a sort of life raft for many districts during the economic downturn. Race to the Top, a national competition to overhaul U.S. school systems, will dole out $4 billion by September. There should be an equivalent for U.S. preschools, he said.
Lawmakers proposed a $1-billion Early Learning Challenge Fund last year, but the measure was stripped in March from a student loan bill. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said last month that the money was not included in his department’s budget proposal because he was expecting Congress to move on the issue.
Meanwhile, supporters point to numerous studies that linked preschool attendance to later academic performance.
“Here’s one of the few programs that really help middle-class families,” Barnett said. “(And) it’s a rounding error in the federal budget.”
Link to study: http://nieer.org/yearbook/