Parents and lawmakers are learning pre-k is harder than they thought.
Working parents who depend on the state’s free programs are questioning Georgia's commitment to their children in response to the cutbacks Gov. Nathan Deal proposed last week. They fear the changes will result in lower-quality teachers and lessons that fail to prepare their kids for elementary school.
Deal has proposed scaling back the hours of the state's nationally lauded and lottery-funded pre-k program by nearly 40 percent, from 6.5 hours a day to 4 hours a day. The move could save $54 million, though the governor has said he wants to restore $16 million in funding to open the program to 5,000 more 4-year-olds.
While the proposal was released with bipartisan support, as late as Friday some House budget writers were considering whether to keep enrollment at current levels and add two students per class, in hopes of keeping the full-day program that researchers and advocates say leaves children better prepared.
Yvonne Dragon, a small-business development consultant from Decatur whose daughter starts pre-k this fall, wants a full-time program.
“There are definitely studies that show the less you put into pre-k -- and that’s dollarswise and hourswise -- the less our children are prepared,” she said. “I’m concerned about my child’s level of preparedness for next year and wonder how do these cuts change the curriculum.”
Jennie Everhart of Norcross also is worried. Her daughter Ava also starts in the fall.
“My big concern is: How are you going to pay quality teachers and only have them working part-time hours?" she said. "How are we going to keep quality teachers if their hours are going to be cut?”
Georgia has been considered a trend-setter in early education since 1995, when relying on lottery revenue, it became the first state to offer free pre-k to all 4-year-olds, regardless of family income.
The program's has steadily expanded through the years, though it's has yet to meet the goal set by its architect, former Gov. Zell Miller, of having as many pre-k slots as there are children wanting to enroll. In December, 85,000 4-year-olds were in the program, and about 10,000 were on a waiting list.
Pre-k and its lottery-funded partner, the popular HOPE scholarship, are both seeing expenses outpace revenue, and Deal and lawmakers say major changes are needed to ensure their long-term viability.
Deal has already recommended that nearly $20 million be cut from the pre-k budget for the fiscal year starting in July.
W. Steven Barnett, co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, said if the reduction in pre-k hours goes through, Georgia "loses its leading status."
Oklahoma would rank ahead of Georgia with its combination of half- and full-day pre-k programs and record of serving a higher percentage of its children, Barnett said.
He questions the plan to cut pre-k hours by nearly 40 percent to save $54 million, or 18 percent of the program's budget. "That doesn't seem like a great deal," Barnett said.
Marci Young, director of Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States, said multiple studies have shown that full-time programs are better than half-day programs, especially for low-income and other at-risk children.
If program hours are cut, the state should provide professional development to its pre-k teachers to ensure that they maintain their effectiveness, Young said.
"Georgia’s reputation won’t be hurt as long as they can maintain the level of quality and access that made them a leader in the field," she said.
Studies show that states see a $7 return for every $1 they invest in early education because children who attend pre-k are more likely to not need remedial education, to graduate from high school, to attend college and to get higher-paying jobs that produce more taxes, Young said.
A study released last week, being billed as the first rigorous, longitudinal look at the effects of public pre-k, found that children who attended Tennessee's public pre-k gained an average of 82 percent more on early literacy and math skills than comparable children who did not attend.
Elaine Draeger, president and CEO of Sheltering Arms Early Education & Family Centers, said the proposed cuts to Georgia's pre-k come just as spending is being cut for Head Start and other early learning programs and charitable support from agencies such as the United Way is being scaled back.
"In my 40-plus years in the field, I don't think I remember another time when I've been as worried about our children," she said.
She said her centers serve 2,000 families who need a full-day program to be able to work.
"We have pre-k teachers who are well-trained, educated and experienced," Draeger said. "We will be in jeopardy of losing them if we are forced to cut their hours and benefits."
Staff writer Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this article.
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