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Editorial: The Record - Preschool postponed
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Last updated: Tuesday June 2, 2009, 9:36 AM
NorthJersey.com
IT'S one thing to have a new and approved school funding law in place, as New Jersey does, now that the state Supreme Court has ruled in its favor.
It's quite another, it turns out, for a state in financial crisis to put that law fully into effect.
There's no doubt state aid will be distributed more equitably to low-income students through the new school funding formula, which replaces the old Abbott plan. However, when school opens in September, a key component of the new law will be missing: preschool expansion.
That doesn't make the new funding law inoperable. But it certainly weakens its effectiveness. Preschool is the proven foundation for raising the quality of education for low-income children. Governor Corzine understood that when he first insisted on preschool expansion, and he understands it now.
But the money for the first phase of that landmark expansion is not in the state budget that must be approved by the end of this month.
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy told The Record's Kathleen Carroll that leaving the preschool funding out is "understandable" in the midst of a national economic crisis. "When the economy changes," Davy said, "preschool will be at the top of the list, I'm sure."
We want to believe the commissioner. We support the new funding law, which is a victory for all low-income students and a victory for Corzine. He was able to persuade the Legislature and the state Supreme Court that the new formula, which directs aid to individual students instead of districts, is fairer and will be more effective in the classroom.
But we also understand the anger and frustration of student advocates, such as David Sciarra of the Educational Law Center, who says the new law is being ignored by stopping preschool expansion in its tracks: "This has a very real impact on real kids and real communities."
Sciarra and early childhood educators know what will be lost by delaying preschool for the children who need it most. The new law guarantees full-day preschool to all low-income 3- and 4-year-olds by 2013. It was supposed to be phased in, starting this September with 84 high-poverty districts where every child is eligible. That would have meant preschool for as many as 6,000 children who do not have it now. But those districts have been told to put their plans on hold.
We understand that preschool is expensive, and that New Jersey spends more than any other state per pupil, almost $11,000 on average, for required preschool in the Abbott districts. We also understand that there have been problems in the past with wasteful spending and lax oversight in some cases.
We also understand, however, that preschool works. It introduces children to books, to the alphabet and numbers, to behaving and participating — preparing children for learning so they do not fall behind later on. It is credited with raising fourth-grade test scores in math and reading, and New Jersey has the numbers to prove it.
Preschool has the support of educators, child development experts and corporate leaders. This state is nationally recognized for establishing a strong public preschool model.
That's why, as the Legislature nears its budget deadline, every effort must be made to find at least a few dollars to begin the process of preschool expansion, even if it is only in a small number of districts. It is essential to start to live up to the promise of the new school funding law — and to demonstrate to the low-income children of New Jersey that this promise is real.
IT'S one thing to have a new and approved school funding law in place, as New Jersey does, now that the state Supreme Court has ruled in its favor.
It's quite another, it turns out, for a state in financial crisis to put that law fully into effect.
There's no doubt state aid will be distributed more equitably to low-income students through the new school funding formula, which replaces the old Abbott plan. However, when school opens in September, a key component of the new law will be missing: preschool expansion.
That doesn't make the new funding law inoperable. But it certainly weakens its effectiveness. Preschool is the proven foundation for raising the quality of education for low-income children. Governor Corzine understood that when he first insisted on preschool expansion, and he understands it now.
But the money for the first phase of that landmark expansion is not in the state budget that must be approved by the end of this month.
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy told The Record's Kathleen Carroll that leaving the preschool funding out is "understandable" in the midst of a national economic crisis. "When the economy changes," Davy said, "preschool will be at the top of the list, I'm sure."
We want to believe the commissioner. We support the new funding law, which is a victory for all low-income students and a victory for Corzine. He was able to persuade the Legislature and the state Supreme Court that the new formula, which directs aid to individual students instead of districts, is fairer and will be more effective in the classroom.
But we also understand the anger and frustration of student advocates, such as David Sciarra of the Educational Law Center, who says the new law is being ignored by stopping preschool expansion in its tracks: "This has a very real impact on real kids and real communities."
Sciarra and early childhood educators know what will be lost by delaying preschool for the children who need it most. The new law guarantees full-day preschool to all low-income 3- and 4-year-olds by 2013. It was supposed to be phased in, starting this September with 84 high-poverty districts where every child is eligible. That would have meant preschool for as many as 6,000 children who do not have it now. But those districts have been told to put their plans on hold.
We understand that preschool is expensive, and that New Jersey spends more than any other state per pupil, almost $11,000 on average, for required preschool in the Abbott districts. We also understand that there have been problems in the past with wasteful spending and lax oversight in some cases.
We also understand, however, that preschool works. It introduces children to books, to the alphabet and numbers, to behaving and participating — preparing children for learning so they do not fall behind later on. It is credited with raising fourth-grade test scores in math and reading, and New Jersey has the numbers to prove it.
Preschool has the support of educators, child development experts and corporate leaders. This state is nationally recognized for establishing a strong public preschool model.
That's why, as the Legislature nears its budget deadline, every effort must be made to find at least a few dollars to begin the process of preschool expansion, even if it is only in a small number of districts. It is essential to start to live up to the promise of the new school funding law — and to demonstrate to the low-income children of New Jersey that this promise is real.
