financing early education
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Financing Early Education
Preschool Policy Briefing June 22, 2004
W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D.
National Institute for Early Education Research
Copies and details available from: www.nieer.org
(732) 932-4350, sbarnett@nieer.org
Presentation Overview
Why does early education financing matter? Access is incomplete and unequal Quality is too low Families struggle with the cost Voters want government to step in
America can afford a better policy Total cost is low Public and private sectors can share costs The cost of missed opportunities is higher
America Faces Serious Challenges
Sustaining economic growth Increasing productivity and competitiveness Increasing educational achievement Meeting future public commitments
--Social Sec., Medicare & Medicaid 75% of 2040 budget
Ensuring a better future for America’s children
Early Education can be part of the Solution
Increases Educational Success and Adult Productivity Cognitive abilities, achievement, & school success Social behavior Employment, earnings, and tax revenue
Decreases Costs of Government Schooling (special ed. & grade retent.) Social services Crime Health care
Cognitive Readiness GapAbilities of Entering Kindergarteners by Family Income
40.0
45.0
50.0
55.0
60.0
Low est 20% 2nd Low est20%
Middle 20% 2nd Highest20%
Highest 20%
Reading
Math
GeneralKnowledge
School Readiness Gap
Abilities Scores
FamilyIncome
Social Readiness GapSocial Skills of Entering Kindergarteners by
Family Income
8.00
8.20
8.40
8.60
8.80
9.00
9.20
9.40
9.60
9.80
Lowest 20% 2nd Lowest 20% Middle 20% 2nd Highest 20% Top 20%
SocialSkills
School Readiness Gap
Social Scores
FamilyIncome
Costs of Early Education
The Cost of Early Education Depends on the Design Ages served Hours of the program Quality—teacher qualifications, class size, etc. Targeted or universal Systems costs--start up and infrastructure
What are benchmarks for cost? Per pupil costs of K-12 education: $8,733 Per pupil costs of Head Start: $6,934 Per pupil state expenditure on PreK: $3,455*
* Does not include local share of costs.
Early Education Finance in Perspective (FY 2005 Budgets)
American economy, annual GDP = $12.0 trillion
Federal annual spending = 2.4 trillion
State and local annual spending = 1.2 trillion
Social Security and Medicare = 800 billion
Agri-business subsidies = 15-20 billion
Head Start = 6.9 billion
State Pre-K = 2.5 billion
UPK = $10-30 billion
Revenue Sources
New taxes and gaming revenue
Borrowing (deficits, bonds for tax cuts, facilities)
Obtain more existing education funds (Title I)
Displace other noneducation spending (economic devel.)
Tax breaks
Parent fees (sliding scale, core v. care)
Conclusions
Access and quality problems require public finance
Quality pre-K for all is good national policy
We need a solution for everyone
The cost is modest
Options include tax increases, tax cuts, borrowing, spending shifts, and parent fees
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