Tag Archives: preschool

California

A sample of what Prop 82 could do for the state

The SacBee published an article outlinin Alpine County’s preschool program.  The program offers free preschool for nearly every child in the county:

Like most 4-year-olds in California, Megan and Nathan Cruz spend their days away from home, in a bright colorful room where they draw, sing, socialize and learn the letters of the alphabet.
Unlike most children in California — whose parents pay an average $7,500 a year for child care — the twins attend a preschool that costs their parents nothing.

The unusual program in Alpine County — a rugged 727-square-mile stretch of the Sierra south of Lake Tahoe — offers both a glimpse of California’s rural past and a vision of what could become the state’s educational future.

Using public money generated by cigarette taxes, Alpine County has already done what the rest of California is now contemplating under Proposition 82 on the June ballot. For the past three years, it has provided free preschool to nearly all children whose parents want it.
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Kati Bell has two kids at the preschool — 3-year-old Sophie and 5-year-old Ryan. The family moved to Alpine County this fall, in part because of the preschool. In Palo Alto, Bell said, she paid $150 a day for her children’s preschool. Now preschool is free and her children couldn’t be happier.

“They love it here,” Bell said. “If I come too early, they say, ‘Can we stay?’ ” (SacBee 5/20/06)

Prop 82 holds a lot of promise for the state.  Yes, it has its fair share of flaws.  But,as many reports have esitmated, we get $2.78 back from every dollar we invest in preschool programs.  Now it’s up to the people of California if they want to make that investment.

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Prop 82’s Role in a Progressive California

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If you’ve been a regular here at Calitics, perhaps you’ve seen me show a bit of my fiscal conservatism.  Those words are probably a poor description of it.  Truth be told, I am simply a budget hawk.  I see paying your bills, or at least maintaining the ability to repay them without massive hardship, crucial to the stable management of a government.  (Are you listening Mr. President?) What I really want to avoid is another Orange County disaster.  Thus, I am far more comfortable with a government that can pay its bills, whether that’s through revenue increases or spending decreases.

But I have also complained about the Prop 13 (and its ilk) restrictions which have hampered the revenue flow of this state.  It has made the addition of any major programs essentially impossible.  If we can’t increase revenues in the legislature, then we can’t provide services for the state of California and its citizens.  This has led to governance via the ballot box in the form of propostions.

And all this brings me to Prop 82, the Preschool for All Initiative.  I was fortunate enough to have the chance to speak to Rob Reiner, a leading proponent of Prop 82.  Being that I am initially skeptical of all propositions, especially multi-billion dollar propositions, I was looking for a reason why I should be in favor of this.

Check out the flip…

Both before and after speaking to Mr. Reiner and Catherine Atkin, President of Preschool California, I knew that preschool was very beneficial to the development of children.  However, I was somewhat unaware of just how significant the benefits of preschool are.  Crime rates are significantly lower.  Dropout rates decrease substantially and you earn a decent return on the money spent ($2.62 for each dollar, according to RAND).  You can get all of that information all over the web, but Preschool California’s Benefits Page does a pretty good job of consolidating the data.  I think there is little doubt that preschool for 4-year olds is beneficial.

And yes, there are some parts of Prop 82 which make me uncomfortable (such as Michael Milken’s involvement and the for-profit preschools).  However, the big controversy, of course, comes when we start talking about how we pay for it.  It’s even split those that you would ordinarily call progressive.  Perata has withdrawn his support as have other Dem legislators.  It’s understandable: It’s a lot of money.  I was, and remain, wary of spending such sums through the ballot box. 

However, Preschool for All can kick open the door to Progressive Causes that have been neglected for so long.  When was the last time we had a major social initiative?  The Great Society?  Reiner has been suggesting that a reason why the opponents have been so critical is precisely because they fear major new social programs.  And because California propositions are known to be contagious, this is something that is extremely scary.

Listen, I really, really would like to break the gridlock in Sacramento which made passage of this legislation impossible.  Government by proposition rather disgusts me.  However, until we can change the super-majority rules, we will need to accomplish some of our goals through the ballot box.  We kick in the door to these new social programs, and we set a precedent for the state and the nation.  California gets to be a progressive leader, and we get education for our 4-year olds in the process.