Gov. Tim Kaine recently told a group of reporters that he still plans to launch a universal, non-mandatory pre-kindergarten program, and, he said, he’ll do it without raising taxes. Great. A pre-kindergarten program, one of the issues that helped Kaine move into the governor’s mansion, is one that should be addressed. But how does Kaine propose we pay for it if not with tax hikes?
A program to make pre-kindergarten classes available to every 3- and 4-year-old in the state would cost an estimated $300 million a year, according to Kaine. The Economic Policy Institute, which issued a report saying that high-quality preschool is a wise investment, puts the cost at nearly $850 million, according to a report from the Media General News Service. Either way, or even somewhere in the middle, that’s a whole lot money. To make room for even $300 million in the state budget would be nigh impossible without raising taxes or fees.
Besides, everyone knows that a no new taxes pledge is political code for “yeah, I’m gonna tax your shorts off.” Is that necessarily a bad thing? The answer, in our opinion, is sometimes. If a pre-kindergarten program can, as the EPI study suggests, pay for itself within 10 years through increased wages and decreased spending on criminal justice, then that is a tax burden we should be willing to bear. If a pre-kindergarten program is just another entitlement, then that is a tax that we Virginians should say, “Not on our watch.”
The issue needs to be researched, debated and scrutinized. Once something like universal pre-k is started, it can’t be unstarted. If it’s here, it’s here to stay, same as K-12 education. We need to make sure that all the claims being made can be justified. If they can, then it is something that state money should rush to support. If they can’t then we our elected leaders shouldn’t be swayed by bad data.
We’re torn on the issue. On one hand, we believe that all kids deserve the best opportunities life can offer. If that means more taxes or finding ways to cut other expenditures, then so be it. On the other hand, we’re worried that studies can be and often are used to justify just about any position. And then there’s that pesky problem of defining “high quality.”
According to a Media General News Service report, Kaine said the goal of Virginia’s program should “not be competency but excellence.” That’s a lovely phrase, one we’d be more apt to believe if Kaine and company had a better record on the K-12 level. If the Standards of Learning are any indication of how the governor defines “excellence,” then we worry that a universal pre-kindergarten program would be more of the same – wasting money on a good idea marred by mediocre execution.
Pre kindergarden = baby sitters paid by the taxpayers. Kaine is proving quite the idiot, of course he’s super rich so he could care less about the destruction of the family. It’s no wonder children have no ‘family’ bond. The government demands they (children) attend their propaganda classes from birth to death.
PreK does not equal free babysitter. My daughter attended PreK and loved it. She learned,played, socialized and grew mentally and physically right along with 14 other 4-year-olds. Since this is not a mandaory program, there is no reason why a parent cannot let their child take a day off occasionally. Of course, it IS free, but so is sending them to grandma’s house everyday. I suspect PreK is a much better experience for any child. I for one, consider my personal family bond to be extremely strong. I would debate that sending my child to preschool took away our chance to bond. The issue being debated here is not quantity of time spent as family bonding time, but rather the quality of the time spent. So, go ahead, give your child extra opportunities to learn and grow with peers, and also, read a book, play a game or take a walk together after school. Make it the best of both worlds!
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