Educators push for preschools
North Adams Transcript, January 31, 2007

Early education advocates, including the state's first lady, met with legislators yesterday to push for a statewide system of public and private preschools.

But even lawmakers who support the plan warned there won't be enough to initially fund the costly program.

Sen. Robert Antonioni, D-Leominster, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Education, said in an interview he doesn't expect the prekindergarten program to be completely funded this year, although funding could increase over several years.

"The price tag is expected to be large," he said.

While Antonioni did not give an estimate, Early Education for All, a private coalition that champions the Massachusetts Universal Prekindergarten program, estimates it would cost $600 million to fully implement the program.

The coalition sponsored a kickoff rally at the Statehouse on Tuesday featuring Diane Patrick, wife of Gov. Deval Patrick, and Bridgewater State College President Dana Mohler-Faria, the governor's special adviser for education. Patrick said children need a quality education from a young age to help establish opportunities for the future.

"The impact of a child's beginning, whether it is strong or poor, shapes their adulthood," said Patrick, a former public school teacher.

She said the state must invest in the future through early education instead of paying the price later for failures that are preventable now.

Mohler-Faria said education remains a high priority for the governor, but he acknowledged there was still more work to be done.

"We all know problems are not solves overnight, or a year or two years. But the beginning of the resolution to these issues are now," he said.

Antonioni, who attended the meeting with Education Committee co-Chairwoman Rep. Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset, said no schedule had been set yet, but the prekindergarten bill would be the committee's top priority.

"Our goal is to iron out the road blocks," he said.

The bill strives to create uniform requirements for private and public prekindergartens seeking state money, Antonioni said.

Financial aid
The bill also would establish a system of financial aid for low-income families, who would receive a discount on the cost of early education and care services.

Early Education for All's Fall 2006 report cites a study by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies ranking Massachusetts as the fourth least affordable state for preschool education.

"We give our children to education for 18 years of their lives and beyond," Patrick said. "We need to give our children the opportunity for a good early start."