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2-1-11 Editorial 'Class warfare on urban preschools'
Star-Ledger Editorial Board, Tuesday February 1, 2011
The fight to improve urban schools in New Jersey has had its ups and downs. At steep expense, we have seen only modest gains in most districts.
But there is one undoubted success: full-day preschools. Kids who graduate from those programs are making solid and measurable gains in reading and math. As a result, poor minority kids are closing the gap with their peers in the suburbs on fourth-grade tests. That’s no small achievement.
So it is dumbfounding to hear that Senate Republicans want to cripple these programs by taking away $300 million in state funding, and transferring it to wealthier suburban districts. That would force most programs to scale back to a half-day.
This move offers a chilling peek at the priorities of Senate Republicans. They talk about shared sacrifice, then try to squeeze money from a successful program that serves the poor. What happened to going after fraud and abuse?
Gov. Chris Christie is keeping a safe distance. During the 2009 campaign he ridiculed preschool programs by calling them “glorified baby-sitting.” And he recently called it “crazy” that poor districts get such a large share of state education aid.
But this year, he slightly increased funding for preschool programs to cover the cost of growing enrollment. And the preschool system is in keeping with the governor’s embrace of educational choice. Parents can choose the school they prefer, public or private. It is, in effect, a voucher system.
Senate Republicans may be trying to test the reaction and protect the governor from any fallout. Over the past year they have marched in lockstep to Christie’s orders. But Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren) says this idea bubbled up at a caucus meeting, and that the governor was not consulted.
As for the merits, Doherty says most of the money saved would go to towns that have seen their state aid frozen or eliminated, which tend to be among the wealthier suburban towns.
“I’d like to go a lot farther, but we had to get a consensus in the caucus,” Doherty says.
Mark this as the opening shot in what is certain to be a brawl over urban education funding.
Few people would resist reasonable cuts, given the state’s fiscal crisis. But to swing a meat cleaver at the state’s most successful education reform is just nuts. Let’s hope Christie tells his team to drop the effort.
Star-Ledger Editorial Board, Tuesday February 1, 2011
Class warfare on urban preschools
Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 5:30 AM
The fight to improve urban schools in New Jersey has had its ups and downs. At steep expense, we have seen only modest gains in most districts.
But there is one undoubted success: full-day preschools. Kids who graduate from those programs are making solid and measurable gains in reading and math. As a result, poor minority kids are closing the gap with their peers in the suburbs on fourth-grade tests. That’s no small achievement.
So it is dumbfounding to hear that Senate Republicans want to cripple these programs by taking away $300 million in state funding, and transferring it to wealthier suburban districts. That would force most programs to scale back to a half-day.
This move offers a chilling peek at the priorities of Senate Republicans. They talk about shared sacrifice, then try to squeeze money from a successful program that serves the poor. What happened to going after fraud and abuse?
Gov. Chris Christie is keeping a safe distance. During the 2009 campaign he ridiculed preschool programs by calling them “glorified baby-sitting.” And he recently called it “crazy” that poor districts get such a large share of state education aid.
But this year, he slightly increased funding for preschool programs to cover the cost of growing enrollment. And the preschool system is in keeping with the governor’s embrace of educational choice. Parents can choose the school they prefer, public or private. It is, in effect, a voucher system.
Senate Republicans may be trying to test the reaction and protect the governor from any fallout. Over the past year they have marched in lockstep to Christie’s orders. But Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren) says this idea bubbled up at a caucus meeting, and that the governor was not consulted.
As for the merits, Doherty says most of the money saved would go to towns that have seen their state aid frozen or eliminated, which tend to be among the wealthier suburban towns.
“I’d like to go a lot farther, but we had to get a consensus in the caucus,” Doherty says.
Mark this as the opening shot in what is certain to be a brawl over urban education funding.
Few people would resist reasonable cuts, given the state’s fiscal crisis. But to swing a meat cleaver at the state’s most successful education reform is just nuts. Let’s hope Christie tells his team to drop the effort.
