Maybe we could use those cell phone fees for pre-k
MySA.com: Legislative efforts on pre-K far apart
While the rest of the nation is investing more money in early childhood education than ever before, Texas lawmakers are starting their discussion with a proposal to decrease funding for pre-kindergarten programs by $20 million.One lawmaker, however, is using a brick-by-brick strategy to provide pre-kindergarten for as many children as possible — one group at a time.
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, is pushing legislation that would extend pre-kindergarten programs to any child who has ever been in foster care and also to children in the custody of grandparents or other family members.
Last year, she pushed through a bill making children of members of the military eligible for pre-kindergarten.
“While the rest of the country is looking at ways to expand their pre-K, it seems like Texas is not on the right road,” Van de Putte said.
Texas is spending nearly $458 million on pre-kindergarten programs for 175,323 children this year. Van de Putte’s latest bill does not have a “fiscal note” outlining its estimated cost.
If pre-K is such a wonderful success story, why aren’t we offering it to everyone? It is horribly sad that to get the job done Leticia Van de Putte has to babystep it. It is pathetic that we hear our state representatives say that our children’s education is their top priority yet their actions don’t mirror their words.
Why a $20 million dollar cut? Heck they are just authorized the collection of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund fee through 2011 even though what it was needed for has been discontinued since 2003. Maybe they can use that money to fund Pre-K, or how about that 1.12 billion they expect to gain from the new cigarette tax? I know, I am being unrealistic expecting them to use money they are collecting for something that really matters as opposed to being able to play with it for anything they want.
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Filed under: Leticia Van de Putte, Pre-K, early childhood, telecommunications infrastructure fund, texas, texas politics
