Preschool important, poll finds

Seventy-seven percent of Hawaii residents say a state-funded preschool program should be partly subsidized or free for all children, according to survey results released Thursday by Good Beginnings Alliance.

And 93 percent of respondents say preschool is important or extremely important to childhood development, said the alliance, which supports programs and services for children.

The Good Beginnings Alliance collaborated with the Be My Voice! Hawaii Leadership Council — made up of several businesses, early childhood groups and philanthropic organizations — to commission the statewide telephone survey by Ward Research of 418 registered voters June 14-25. The margin of error is 4.7 percent.

Christina Cox, president of KCAA Preschools of Hawaii, said she is pleased with the survey results because they show a change in viewpoint among Hawaii residents.

"Generally speaking, the trend has been that the public has been in support of children," she said. "However, when the rubber meets the road and you say, ‘So, are you willing to support it financially?’ that has not been indicated as a positive (response). This was the first time I can say in all these years that people are ready."

Cox said Hawaii is one of 11 states that do not offer state-funded preschool. While the state has been running a junior kindergarten program for 4-year-olds, lawmakers voted this past legislative session to eliminate it by 2014.

State Sen. Jill Tokuda, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said establishing the Executive Office on Early Learning this past session has laid the foundation for the first phases of state-funded preschool to begin rolling out in the 2014-2015 school year — when junior kindergarten is set to run out.

"These poll results definitely show that we’re on the right track," Tokuda said. "This is just the beginning for us, and we’re going to need to have that support and public will to be able to take us to that next level."

In general, 51 percent of survey respondents said they would strongly support a state program that gives all 4-year-olds access to preschool, and 23 percent said they would somewhat support statewide access to preschool. Another 23 percent would rather keep the current system of having parents pay for their own child’s early education.

When asked which funding source for statewide preschool they most strongly supported, 21 percent of respondents chose revenues generated from a state lottery — making it the most popular funding option — while 18 percent sided with a tax increase for households that have an annual income greater than $500,000, and 16 percent favored a 5-cent tax on soda and other sugary beverages.