A large obstacle blocks Indiana’s path toward significantly funding schooling for 4-year-old Hoosier kids.
That obstruction is an attitude. A powerful state senator voiced that attitude last week, but he is not alone. His outlook on the value of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs is shared in sectors of Indiana.
“All [state-funded pre-K] does is alleviate the responsibility of the parent to prepare the child for education,” Sen. Luke Kenley, a Republican from Noblesville and chairman of the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee, told Indiana Public Media.
Given that mindset, it was not surprising that Kenley downsized a proposal to double Indiana’s already meager commitment to pre-K, reducing the sought-after increase by more than half.
A plan by Gov. Eric Holcomb called for a $10 million increase in the state’s On My Way Pre-K program, a concept that drew decent bipartisan support in the Legislature and solid backing from Hoosiers working daily in early childhood education services. The House passed its version of the state’s two-year budget Thursday, and that package included $20 million annually for pre-K, twice the existing level of funding for On My Way.
Over in the Senate on Thursday, Kenley and the Appropriations Committee sliced the pre-K backing to $13 million in a separate bill. That measure’s amendment also diverts another $3 million to other ventures aimed at children of pre-K age, including $1 million for parents to use an in-home early education software system.
Budget discussions involving the two legislative chambers lie ahead, so the final pre-K amount could change again. Fortunately, House Speaker Brian Bosma reiterated his support for expanded pre-K, telling the Indianapolis Star that he advocates funding beyond $20 million.
At some point, the negative opinion that Indiana pre-K would amount to nothing more than state-sponsored babysitting must no longer govern decisions on the program’s implementation. Though the cynical view persists, it does not represent most Hoosiers. The annual Hoosier Survey by the Bowen Center for Public Affairs showed 82 percent of Indiana residents favor state-funded pre-K education for all kids whose families want it, instead of the tiny current program that serves 2,400 youngsters in five counties.
Pre-kindergarten for all Indiana 4-year-olds would not be cheap, costing $150 million a year. Legislators must weigh that price against other initiatives, from corporate tax cuts to better roads. Still, their choice on pre-K should be rendered with an open mind.
Plenty of research validates its effectiveness. A University of Chicago study showed early childhood schooling benefits students into adulthood, improving their earning power and lessening their likelihood to end up in jail or on public assistance. Pre-K is not babysitting. Indiana’s current On My Way Pre-K guidelines mandate a structured curriculum. Expanding pre-K also would enable working, low-income families to enroll their child in preschool, something they could not afford otherwise.
Senator Kenley told the Star, “We spend $427 million per year on all kinds of services to children under the age of 5.” Contacted by the Tribune-Star on Friday, the Indiana Senate Republicans clarified that Kenley’s reference also involved federal and local programs, not just state efforts, ranging from Head Start and Early Head Start to Title I preschool and a state Childcare Development Fund, among others.
That concern for efficiency is important. Yet, so is Indiana’s need to further invest in its youngest residents, preventing the necessity to spend resources on those same people as grownups. At the least, the General Assembly should fully fund the governor’s plan.