Calls To Preserve Pre-School Funding
CHICAGO (WBBM) - Educators and police chiefs in one west suburban school district are calling on legislators to preserve funding for all-day pre-school.
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Two chiefs tried to make a point by visiting a preschool class at the Lincoln School, in Brookfield, to read books to students, along with one of the legislators who will have to decide what level of funding schools will get amid Illinois' financial woes.
Educators and advocates justify the expense of pre-school, which is not mandated under state law, by saying that students who succeed in pre-school are far less likely to get into trouble when older than those who do not.
They cite a series of studies. But Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said he sees the difference all the time in those who don't.
"They can't even read what's on the bond sheet to get themselves out of the jail facility," he said. "What does that say about our society?"
District 103 Early Childhood Coordinator Chris Newell said she was relieved just to get the same funding this year as last. But she said she needs more money, not less.
"Unfortunately, many times, early childhood programs are kind of at the bottom of the barrel because many people really think all they do is play all day," she said.
Instead, she said, today's 3-5 year olds are learning how to add, subtract and read, while becoming socialized.
While funding has increased since 2006, the group "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids" argues that the state could easily spend a lot more, while saving in the long run on the costs of delinquency, crime and incarceration.
The group's deputy director, Sally Puleo, said that while suburban Cook County districts have added more than 7,800 slots for 3 and 4-year-old children, bringing the number of children enrolled in state-funded preschool to 13,914, the families of another 25,505 cannot afford to pay preschool tuition.
State Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Chicago) represents the Riverside-Brookfield area. He said the legislature is "at a crossroads" on a number of funding questions, including education funding, and said lawmakers need to make a commitment to providing such funding consistently.
