Governor says move now on preschool program

By Derrick DePledge

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 31, 2013

~~<p>State lawmakers should not wait for a constitutional amendment in 2014 that would allow public money to be spent on private preschool before launching a school readiness program, Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Wednesday.</p>
<p>The Abercrombie administration and many education, labor and business leaders want lawmakers to approve about $30 million to cover 3,500 4-year-olds in a school readiness program in the 2014-2015 school year. The children would have been eligible for junior kindergarten at public schools, but junior kindergarten is being eliminated.</p>
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State lawmakers should not wait for a constitutional amendment in 2014 that would allow public money to be spent on private preschool before launching a school readiness program, Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Wednesday.

The Abercrombie administration and many education, labor and business leaders want lawmakers to approve about $30 million to cover 3,500 4-year-olds in a school readiness program in the 2014-2015 school year. The children would have been eligible for junior kindergarten at public schools, but junior kindergarten is being eliminated. Login for more...