Why I Support Preschool for All (Prop. 82)

By Sheila Jordan

Assemblywoman Wilma Chan and I are part of the countywide leadership for Proposition 82, Preschool for All. Preschool can make the difference between success and failure in school, college, and life.

These past few years, education leaders have had to fight mainly a defensive battle, seeking to reverse the governor's budget cutbacks and turn back his unfair attacks against teachers. We fought very hard just to get back to square one.

With Proposition 82, we are finally moving forward again. Proposition 82 is a modest but important beginning. The initiative is built on a solid body of research that shows lasting benefits from preschool education. Children who have experienced quality preschool start kindergarten with a distinct advantage. They not only do better in school, they are more likely to get into college and to get their degrees. They are also significantly less likely to get in trouble with the law or to become a burden on society in other ways. The modest investment in preschool repays society several times over.

Social equity is one of the key objectives of the measure. The first money that becomes available will go to unserved children from the lowest socio-economic strata. Gradually, as more funds come online, the program will serve a broader clientele until every four year old whose parents want it, will have the opportunity to attend.

Training of qualified preschool teachers is built into the initiative. Gradually, over time, the initiative will lift preschool teachers -- currently the worst paid of all educators -- to parity with public school teachers in the elementary grades.

Passage of the Act will mean a significant infusion of new funds for Alameda County. Money for training, salaries, and for construction or renovation of preschool facilities will be a welcome boost to our local economies.

Preschool for All will not raise property taxes and it will not take away funds from K-12 education. It merely recaptures a small fraction of the Bush administration's tax reductions benefiting the wealthiest members of society. Individuals making more than $400,000 per year (or couples making $800,000) will pay 1.7% extra in state income tax to pay for the measure. They will be able to deduct this amount from their federal income tax and come out even. This method of financing will establish an important precedent, namely that it is fair to ask the richest members of society to invest in education for all.

Don't be fooled by the attacks on Prop. 82. The attack ads -- complete with hired actors pretending to be educators or parents -- are mostly grounded in the unwillingness of some of the wealthy to shoulder any social responsibility. To be sure, the initiative isn't perfect; no human projects ever are. But the act is a carefully crafted, well thought out foundation that will benefit all levels of public education and lead to significant reductions in crime and social dependency, long term. That's a cause worth fighting for.

Almost as important as passage of the act is the way it is implemented. The program will fail if it is implemented in a bureaucratic, top-down manner without taking into account the specific circumstances that prevail in each particular case. The program will succeed only if we solicit and listen to community input, if we hear the voices of all stakeholders, and if we proceed in a sensitive, culturally intelligent manner. I have established relationships with many of the key preschool providers in the county, and with the agencies that have labored on the preschool issue for many years. My office has held a series of community meetings and workshops on the issue. We are ready to move forward on Preschool for All in partnership with the numerous education and community leaders that have an interest in this vital segment.

Please join Assemblywoman Wilma Chan and me, and the very broad range of other supporters high and low, in voting for Proposition 82.