Preschool funding lags behind access
South Carolina ranked among the top 10 states in the nation last year in providing publicly-funded preschool programs to 4-year-olds, but state funding has not achieved the same high rating.
The National Institute for Early Education Research's annual report, released today, placed the state 7th in the nation for its preschool access for 4-year-olds during the 2006-07 school year. But South Carolina ranked only 38th in the amount of state spending funneled to the program.
S.C. preschool funds '06-07
By the numbers
38th in the nation in state funding for preschool
7th in the nation for the percentage of 4-year-olds in state-funded preschool
24th in the nation for the percentage of 3-year-olds in state-funded preschool
21,716: Total students enrolled in state-funded preschool
$34.7 million: Total state money spent for preschool classes
$1,600: State money spent per child enrolled
State education, business and community leaders have called for a greater investment in early childhood education, and there's a groundswell of support for a bill that would expand full-day classes for 4-year-olds to every district in the state. The expansion could cost more than $100 million, and likely won't pass in a tight budget year.
Still, the national report found that the Child Development Education Pilot Program established in 2006 has boosted the state's overall preschool enrollment and has done so while meeting a majority of quality benchmarks. The pilot program began in response to a court case in which a judge ruled that the state inadequately funded early childhood education.
The pilot program now serves more than 4,470 4-year-olds in 35 school districts, but is offered only in plaintiff districts that participated in the lawsuit, said Pam Wills, the program's coordinator with the state Department of Education.
The pilot program accounted for nearly 18 percent of all 4-year-olds enrolled in state-funded preschool last year, with the rest of the children educated as part of a traditional pre-kindergarten model supported by local districts. Those classes are largely available in districts with higher tax bases.
Wills said the pilot program's success has changed the tone of early childhood education discussions. "While we don't have the spending level that we'd like to have, there is tremendous support for 4K programs," she said.
State-funded preschools served more than 1 million children across the nation last year, but the report found that more than half of all 4-year-olds were not enrolled in government-supported programs.
Steven Barnett, director of the Rutgers University institute that compiled the report, said this year's study had mixed results. Thirty states increased their preschool enrollments, but middle-class children continued to find themselves left out of the equation, he said. Wealthier families can pay for private preschools and low-income children qualify for state-funded programs, but middle-class children have few options, he said.
States need to decide "if preschool is a welfare program for the poor or an essential investment for all," Barnett said.
If preschool classes are to become a funding priority in South Carolina, local leaders will have to lead the charge in convincing lawmakers of their
importance, said Bonnie Bella, the Trident United Way's vice president for children and youth services.
United Way chapters across South Carolina have banded together to push for pre-kindergarten for all children.
Bella said business leaders are being urged to help make the case for getting the necessary funds for an expansion into this year's budget.
She said she's heard that it will be tough to expand the program this year, but argues that every year of waiting leads to thousands more children without quality early childhood education.
To read the full report, go to www.nieer.org/yearbook>
Reach Mindy B. Hagen at 937-5433.
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