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Debate Ramps Up Over Early Education
While Montana school district leaders support governor’s preschool initiative, critics question merits
FEBRUARY 4, 2015 | 5
W•O•R•D•S of the Week
AN INDEX OF RECENT NEWSMAKERS
SUPER BOWL
The New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, in a wild Super Bowl on Sunday. It was the sixth time the Pats appeared on the NFL’s biggest stage under the guidance of head coach Bill Belichick and first time they’ve won the Lom- bardi Trophy since 2004.
SPEECH AND DEBATE
The Columbia Falls Speech and Debate team claimed its 10th consecutive Class A state cham- pionship at home last weekend while Flathead brought home the Class AA trophy, its first since 2009.
REFINERY STRIKE
More than 3,800 oil refinery workers in the United States, including some in Montana, went on strike this week after con- tract negotiations broke down with various companies. The strike is currently impacting 10 percent of the country’s refining capacity but if union officials were to call a full strike it would impact 68 percent of the nation’s capacity.
GROUNDHOG DAY
Pennsylvania’s most famous rodent, Punxsutawney Phil was pulled from his home on Feb. 2 and saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. Phil has been predicting the weather since 1887 and has an 80 percent accuracy rate, according to AccuWeather.
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
As Gov. Steve Bullock pushes his pro- posal to publicly fund preschool, his bud- get request is sharpening a divide between advocates of state-funded early education and opponents who say the investment lacks merit.
Bullock’s proposal, dubbed Early Edge Montana, includes a $37 million item for a voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds. His plan would make $30,000 grants available to school dis- tricts for every 10 preschool-age students. The money for the initiative could be used by school districts to create preschool pro- grams, partner with an existing one, or a combination of the two.
Under the proposal, participation would be voluntary for school districts and parents. The money would fund the program for two years and would be divid- ed among the state’s school districts.
Bullock says that state-funded pre- school aids in early childhood develop- ment and will improve performance in later education, and while school district leaders from across the state agree, the claim has been disputed by some state Re- publicans, including House Speaker Aus- tin Knudsen.
Knudsen said the studies he’s read on preschool don’t show it as a worthy in- vestment and requested data proving that those who attend preschools later score higher on ACT tests.
Instead, many Republicans are push- ing for publicly funded charter schools in Montana, as well as tax credits for private school scholarships, saying the measure
A teacher helps a student with an assignment in a third grade class at Peterson Elementary School.
BEACON FILE PHOTO
would allow families more educational choices. School and education groups have lobbied against the measure, arguing that charter schools would funnel money away from traditional public schools. They also say tax credits for private school tuitions may be unconstitutional.
In the Flathead Valley, Mark Flatau, superintendent of Kalispell Public Schools District 5, recently joined a group of eight other school district leaders from across the state to support early education, say- ing students who attend preschool enjoy greater success in grade school and be- yond.
He understands opponents’ argument against publicly funded early education,
but said he believes stakeholders could collaborate in their own communities to efficiently implement the measure.
“I think some folks can interpret it as another government entity trying to influ- ence the minds of our young children. And I totally see that perspective. But from my perspective as an educator and know- ing the challenges students face without that early-education foundation, the im- portance of those early learning years is key,” he said. “Unfortunately we are deal- ing with an increasing number of students who are coming to us without the level of skills and basic knowledge because they
See Education PAGE 22
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