Budget Cuts Have Hurt Ohio's Preschool Programs

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Ohio left behind in preschool
State has cut funds more than any other in the nation
Tuesday, April 26, 2011  03:12 AM
By Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 
Once regarded as a national leader in educating preschoolers, Ohio now owns a more dubious distinction: No other state has slashed preschool funding like the Buckeye State.

According to a report released today, Ohio enrolled fewer children in tax-funded preschool last year than it did a decade ago. The state served 3,535 of eligible 4-year-olds, plunging nearly 75 percent since the 2001-2002 school year.

That's by far the largest drop of any of the 40 states with programs, the annual analysis by the National Institute for Early Education Research found.

The report's author said the lack of services designed to prepare disadvantaged youngsters for kindergarten will affect them well into adulthood.

Story continues belowAdvertisement "This is a double-whammy for the children of Ohio," said W. Steven Barnett, co-director of the institute based at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

"We know that when a recession hits, when parents lose their jobs, when family income declines, that has a permanent negative impact on child development. So, 30 years later, you are going to make less money."

On a conference call with reporters, Barnett said cuts to Ohio's public preschool program were so severe that he questioned the priorities of state policymakers amid the recession and rising poverty.

"What do we see as the government's response? They make it worse. At just the time that your parents have less, the state pulls the rug out from under you," he said. "Ohio this year spent a billion and a half on new tax credits for business ... that's probably not the smartest investment when they are cutting pre-K and other programs."

State officials attributed the cuts to limited resources.

The report's findings are "not unexpected based on the budget cuts these programs have experienced," said Patrick Galloway, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.

"What we have tried to do is adjust the dollar amount per student so we could accommodate more students. But all in all it's a budget decision. Until we can see a way to provide additional funding to these kinds of programs, we'll just do what we can."

Nationwide, the report found nearly 1.3 million children - most of them 3- and 4-year-olds - attended state-funded preschool in the 2009-1010 school year, about 27,000 more than the year before. Average per-student spending fell during that time by $114, to $4,028.

While the nation's economy seems to be improving, Barnett cautioned that the financial plight of public preschool could get worse before it improves as Ohio and other states face large budget shortfalls due, in large part, from the loss of federal stimulus money.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged states facing tight budgets to fund quality preschool programs, which have been shown to help poor children obtain the skills they need to succeed in school, and find other areas to cut.

"Our 3- and 4-year-olds don't vote, they don't hire lobbyists, they don't have a union. It's up to us," Duncan said. "We have to get out of the catch-up game in education ... we are seeing severe cuts which present real challenges to young people really fighting to be in the mainstream."

In Ohio, funding for early childhood education was cut in the past two state budgets. Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal would maintain funding and enrollment levels for the next two years.

The state's Early Childhood Education program serves children in families up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, $44,700 a year for a family of four. Last year, Ohio enrolled 2 percent of eligible 4-year-olds. Oklahoma led the nation, serving 71 percent.