Playing “Survivor” in Harrisburg

Spring 2011 may just turn out to be the toughest time to be a kid. Final exams? Prom dress shopping? First Little League game as pitcher? Heck no. It’s being caught in the budget crosshairs in the state Capitol, where quality early learning, K-12 education and child well-being must face off against each other in some kind of “Survivor” competition.

When Gov. Corbett unveiled his 2011-12 budget in March, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) went on record by saying we were pleased his budget kept funding stable for early childhood investments including Head Start, Pre-K Counts and child care. But at the same time, we were not afraid to express our disappointment that the governor’s budget drastically cut state support for basic education as well as eliminated the Accountability Block Grant (ABG), a flexible funding source that allows school districts to tap funds for proven strategies such as full-day kindergarten.

Nearly 350 school districts across rely on the Accountability Block Grant to fully or partially funds their full-day K programs. In fact, the ABG funds two of every three children attending full-day kindergarten in our state.

A recent survey of school districts by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officialsshows that these cuts will result in significant harm to educational quality as schools across the state may be forced to cut programs that affect student learning. For example, 71 percent of school districts responding expected to cut instructional programs in the 2011-12 school year, 86 percent anticipated increasing class sizes, and 31 percent are considering cutting full-day K for next school year.

This week the House of Representatives will vote on a budget proposal that will restore $100 million to basic education funding and $100 million to the Accountability Block Grant. Those are positive steps forward.

But this is where it’s tough to be a kid. Yes, we want to protect education funding and ensure our schools can provide all children a world-class education, but not by rolling the dice on other kids’ programs. In the House proposal, legislators have reinstated education and ABG dollars by stripping money from the Department of Public Welfare:  Nearly $40 million of funds will be diverted away from quality early learning education, such as Keystone STARS and Child Care Works, which provides child care subsidy for low-income working parents.

Trading funding of one proven childhood investment for another childhood program is a giant step backward. While it is important that our lawmakers remain fiscally responsible, taking money from proven investments in early childhood to fund other school programs is anything but fiscally responsible, especially when there’s a revenue surplus that can be tapped. Cutting nearly $40 million out of proven programs such as Child Care Works and Keystone STARS doesn't seem necessary when there is a widely-reported budget surplus of more $500 million.

It makes the most sense to restore the cuts in education by using the state's surplus, not by cutting quality early childhood education. Tell your legislators to support a budget that doesn’t pit proven children’s programs against each other.

Joan L. Benso is President and CEO, PA Partnerships for Children