Preschool

Expand State Funded Preschool

Last Updated Aug 20, 2008 09:57 PM

Early childhood education is the first subject Gov. M. Jodi Rell addresses in the section of her budget narrative on

education, but her specific proposals have gotten mixed reviews from legislators.

Her plan includes $5.5 million to expand state-funded preschool programs beyond the poorest cities and towns, so that more

families who have not been able to send their children to preschool can do so.

This and other new funding would lead to the creation of up to 1,000 more spaces in preschool for children in towns where

many have been unable to attend any preschool program.

In addition, the governor's budget includes $1 million to fund scholarships for preschool teachers, an investment that aims

to increase the teachers' qualifications and reduce turnover.

Among Rell's other plans for preschool spending are $2 million in capital funding so that existing preschools can be

renovated and expanded and $300,000 to train teachers in the state's preschool curriculum.

Rell also wants to establish an Early Childhood Investment Advisory Cabinet, which would be made up of the commissioners of

the state departments whose work affects children.

The cabinet would require all state-funded preschool programs to adopt the state preschool curriculum and would establish a

rating system for the programs to help parents choose among them.

Rell and state Education Commissioner Betty J. Sternberg have been bringing particular attention to pre-kindergarten

education over the past several months.

In August, Rell appointed Janice Gruendel, co-founder and co-president of Connecticut Voices for Children, as head of an "

early childhood education initiative" designed to find ways to expand and finance preschool programs in the state.

Rep. Andrew M. Fleischmann, D-West Hartford and co-chairman of the Education Committee, said the governor's spending plan

does not include enough money to give all the state's children access to high-quality preschool.

Early childhood programs remain "woefully underfunded" under Rell's proposal, Fleischmann said.

He said he disagrees with the governor's proposal to spend $15.5 million on laptop computers for 9th- and tenth-grade English

classrooms because he has not seen evidence that such an investment would lead to higher student achievement.

Preschool, on the other hand, has proven benefits, and should have been given more funding, Fleischmann said.

"We know that investing in early childhood education pays major dividends," he said.

The president of the Connecticut Education Association, which is the state's largest teacher's union, said Rell's plans for

early childhood education fell short of her expectations.

CEA President Rosemary Coyle said the budget does not do enough to establish more high-quality preschool programs and

teachers, lower adult-to-child ratios in the programs, or improve physical environments for preschool children.

Coyle also disapproves of the creation of the cabinet and the council that will advise it as a waste of money that could be

going directly to preschool classrooms.

Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden and co-chairman of the Education Committee, and Sen. Thomas J. Herlihy, R-Simsbury and

ranking member on the committee, said Rell's proposed preschool investments are a good start.

"It's a lean budget year, and I think it's good news that the governor has put a priority on early childhood education for

the little resources we have to add to a program that has proven to yield excellent results," Gaffey said.

Herlihy said the governor is "putting money where it needs to be."

"I think it's a terrific start. People need to bear in mind that she's dealing with a $1.3 billion budget hole," and still

sending a message about her commitment to early childhood education, he added.

"She's getting us started, and there will be much more money invested for the years to come," Herlihy said.

See also Preschool 338 1 - 11