Bredesen hopes to boost pre-K program
NASHVILLE (AP) — When Gov. Phil Bredesen unveils his budget to Tennessee lawmakers Monday, he will ask the state to more than triple its spending on pre-kindergarten.
Improving preschool education is at the heart of the governor’s agenda for the year — but it may be a tough sell in the Legislature since he wants to use lottery money to pay for it.
Lawmakers, even some who like the idea, wonder if it may be too early to start using even small amounts of lottery money since the full costs for the college scholarships are still developing.
Bredesen has said he is going to announce $25 million in new money for pre-kindergarten, hoping to duplicate efforts other states have had preparing 4-year-olds for school.
In Georgia, which uses lottery money to send a larger portion of its students through preschool than any other state, the results have been hailed as a great success. It costs about $260 million in lottery money each year to send roughly 71,000 4-year-olds through the program.
A recent study on the Georgia program found that children who attended pre-K did better in kindergarten than peers across the nation. The children also improved in basic skills such as identifying colors, counting and naming numbers, the study found.
“It’s been very successful, and our kindergartens have seen a big difference in children entering school,” said Georgia pre-K program manager Mary Rieck. “We think it’s a great program.”
Right now, Tennessee spends about $10 million on 3,000 preschool students. Bredesen’s budget would try to reach another 9,000, giving preference to “at-risk” children.
Officials said Bredesen will roll out a funding formula for the pre-kindergarten program that looks like the one used for the Basic Education Program, the funding mechanism for K-12 education. That would require a local match from school districts that wanted to start a program.
Bredesen has said he would ultimately like to make the preschool program available to all districts regardless of family income levels. Such a program could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The governor’s hope is at some point we will be able to roll the pre-K program into K-12 funding,” said Kim Karesh, Education Department spokeswoman. “It really is a good investment for the state, and we are glad it is being given a priority this year.”
During its first year, the lottery is bringing in more money than is being used for the college scholarship program, with officials predicting a $60 million to $70 million surplus.
Bredesen is banking that there will be plenty of money for his preschool initiative — and there are plenty of lawmakers who hope it works.
“I haven’t met a legislator yet who doesn’t believe in the idea that a pre-K program is important,” said House Majority Leader Kim McMillan, D-Clarksville. “We all believe that pre-K education is so important to the state to prepare our kids to go to school.”
McMillan said she believes the governor has thoroughly thought through any lingering constitutional issues or potential problems with shortfalls in lottery revenues before he would make such a proposal.
But Democratic Leader Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis said some lawmakers are waiting to hear the specifics.
“I think there are going to be a lot of questions on that — not to say it isn’t needed,” Kyle said. “I would prefer not to use lottery money to start the program. But I am open to what he has to say.”
“It’s a case he is going to have to make to the Legislature.”