The value of early childhood education has long been acknowledged by many educators and officeholders. But how much public investment in pre-K classes is prudent? A new poll commissioned by an advocacy group for early education indicates many taxpayers would answer that question differently than policymakers. In this guest article, those poll results are discussed by Mindy Binderman, executive director of GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students.
Here’s what she says:
By age two, toddlers’ neural networks are growing at a pace that far outstrips the rate of development at any other point in their life. We know that the years from birth to age 5 are the most critical for a child’s brain development, yet our current state investments in our youngest learners, particularly infants and toddlers, don’t reflect that reality. New polling data shows that the vast majority of Georgians – regardless of political party, location, or race – support expanding Georgia Pre-K and making high-quality child care for infants and toddlers more affordable.
These findings come from polling data conducted by a bipartisan team of North Star Opinion Research with EMC Research, commissioned by GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students.
GEEARS has polled Georgia voters every four years since 2010. The results have shown, each time, that support for early education programs unites Georgians. Voters continue to support using a portion of lottery funds to provide voluntary pre-K programs for 4-year-olds by an overwhelming 80-to-18 percent ratio.
As has been true for the last eight years, support for this idea is widespread and bipartisan, enjoying the backing of 69 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of independents, and 89 percent of Democrats. Our pollsters have said, “There are few policies in any area over the last decade that have seen such overwhelming, durable, bipartisan support in this polarized and cynical time.”
Voters also support making high-quality child care more accessible for our youngest learners. This year, for the first time, we asked about support for scholarships to make infant and toddler care affordable for low-income families, and voters indicated their support by a wide margin, 76 to 23 percent, including 50 percent “strong support.”
As with pre-K expansion, support for child-care scholarships is widespread among voters. Fifty-four percent of Republicans support it, as do 78 percent of independents and 90 percent of Democrats. It also has the support of 80 percent of women, 71 percent of men, 91 percent of non-white voters, and 65 percent of white voters.
Voters recognize that investing in young children’s education is far less expensive than trying to remediate poor educational outcomes later in life. Seventy-three percent of voters understand that investing in high-quality early learning programs for infants and toddlers will boost the state’s future economy. Multiple longitudinal studies have proven that early education boosts career success, grows stronger tax bases, and even improves health throughout someone’s life.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Dr. James Heckman concurs: His analysis of these studies shows the average return on investment in early education is 13 percent annually, easily surpassing that of the S&P 500. Investing in early childhood education beats the stock market.
An analysis from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states that no family should spend more than 7 percent of their income on early care and learning services. In 2016, the Economic Policy Institute found that Georgia families spent an average of $7,644 per year on infant care. That’s not only twice HHS’s guidance for family spending, it’s more than the average in-state college tuition. With 91 percent of those polled responding that it is important for parents to have access to affordable, quality child care, it’s incumbent upon the next administration to continue work on meaningful solutions to this issue.
Two-to-one, Georgians said they would rather supply sufficient funding for quality early education than maintain the current levels of taxation and spending. In other words, Georgians are ready and willing to invest in this now. Moreover, Georgia voters think local and state governments are best positioned to find a solution to child care challenges. When asked who they feel is best-positioned to find a solution to the challenge of access to quality, affordable child care (and allowed to give up to two responses), 40 percent of voters say local governments and 33 percent say the governor and state legislature, while fewer thought that it was up to businesses, Congress and nonprofits.
The well-being of the state rests on our ability to ensure a strong foundation for our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Voters clearly see early childhood education as a worthy investment, and a desired priority for the state. Our local officials, the General Assembly, and our next Governor must as well.
