HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 08-04 More children headed to pre-K this fall after state adds $50 million for early learning STAR TRIBUNE
More children headed to pre-K this fall after state adds $50 million for early learning | Star TribunePage 1 of 5
LOCAL
More children headed to pre-K this fall after
state adds $50 million for early learning
+
By JESSIE VAN BERKEL , STAR TRIBUNE
August 04, 2017 - 8:25 PM
Thousands more young children will head to preschool this fall after Minnesota leaders
dedicated an additional $50 million to programs that ensure kids enter kindergarten
ready to learn.
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said the increased funding will allow 6,160 children to attend
pre-K programs for free this fall and bring the number of early learners in such
programs to 22,500 this year. But the governor and school officials, who gathered
Friday to announce the expansion of various early learning programs, said the new
funding doesn't go far enough to meet the demand.
"There should be more investment in our early childhood programs," Robbinsdale Area
Schools Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said, as those efforts help reduce the drop-out
rate. "This is a big move, but it's not big enough."
http://m.startribune.com/more-children-headed-to-pre-k-this-fall-after-state-adds-50-million-for-early-learn...8/7/2017
More children headed to pre-K this fall after state adds $50 million for early learning | Star TribunePage 2 of 5
Dayton has pushed for universal pre-K and spent $257 million on early learning efforts
over the past six years. This year he proposed spending an additional $175 million on
such programs.
Legislators agreed to $50 million in new one-time funding over the next two years.
The governor's proposal was "a challenge and a stretch," said Rep. Jenifer Loon, who
chairs the House Education Finance Committee.
There are children who would be ready for kindergarten without the state's
intervention, said Loon, R-Eden Prairie, and she would prefer to focus on those who
need assistance, like kids who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
"If we have a system of universal pre-K that is not adequately targeted … it takes
resources away from the K-12 system," she said.
The $50 million allocated by the Legislature includes more money for scholarships in
addition to Dayton's voluntary pre-K program, Loon said. The scholarships allow
parents more flexibility in where their child gets early learning services.
Across the state, 223 school districts and charter schools applied for the new pre-K
funding this summer and 59 received it, according to the governor's office. Another 74
districts and charters will continue to get funding the state first allocated to them in
2016.
The programs help young children develop social-emotional, early literacy and
language skills, said Superintendent Christine Osorio, who leads the district that
includes North St. Paul, Maplewood and Oakdale. They also familiarize kids with a
school environment so they are not wasting time acclimating in kindergarten, she said.
http://m.startribune.com/more-children-headed-to-pre-k-this-fall-after-state-adds-50-million-for-early-learn...8/7/2017
More children headed to pre-K this fall after state adds $50 million for early learning | Star TribunePage 3 of 5
Osorio's district received enough of the new one-time funding to pay for an additional
144 children to participate in pre-K programming. The state received applications for
an additional 9,094 pre-K students that it did not have funding to cover.
"There is great disappointment to me that at a time when we had a $1.65 billion budget
surplus, many legislators didn't want to fund expansion of pre-K at all … and then
finally reluctantly agreed to this partial funding increase," Dayton said.
If all 4-year-olds attend universal pre-K programs, it could have a disastrous side effect
on the private market for day care and early childhood education, Sen. Carla Nelson,
R-Rochester, said.
"It destroys the marketplace and drives up the cost for the kids up to age four
dramatically," said Nelson, the E-12 Finance Committee chairwoman. "It's a much
more complex issue than what it looks like."
While Dayton does not have enough legislative support to meet his universal pre-K
goal, Minneapolis and St. Paul are studying a local option.
Gretchen Musicant, Minneapolis' health commissioner, spoke to City Council members
this week on the possibility of a universal program across the Twin Cities and funding
challenges.
Minneapolis is waiting to get more details from St. Paul and from a Legislative
Auditor's report that could identify early learning program gaps or duplicative funding
efforts, Musicant said. She expects city leaders will dive deeper into the idea in 2018.
Jessie Van Berkel • 612-673-4649
Comments
NEXT IN LOCAL
GOP state representative announces run against U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar
At Bloomington mosque, Dayton calls blast an 'act of terrorism'
http://m.startribune.com/more-children-headed-to-pre-k-this-fall-after-state-adds-50-million-for-early-learn...8/7/2017