Approve early-education amendment

The constitutional amendment ballot measure this November to allow public funds to support private early childhood education programs will not only affect where families can access services for their children. It also has ramifications for what it will cost the state for prekindergarten, the ability to monitor quality, and the ability to maximize resourc-es already available in the early childhood community.

Should the constitutional amendment pass, it will open opportunities, such as:

» It will allow the Abercrombie administration to partner with private, community-based providers, like Kamaaina Kids and KCAA Preschools of Hawaii, through a competitive contracting process, as outlined in the governor’s proposal to the 2014 Legislature. This by definition would not be a voucher program, where funds go instead to families.

The state will be able to save money. The cost for a prekindergarten system involving both public and private providers is estimated at $50 million each year. The cost for a prekindergarten system funded and run solely by the state would be drastically higher, at an estimated $126 million each year — and this does not take fringe benefits into account. With 17,500 4-year-olds in Hawaii, the state Department of Education (DOE) would also need to build new classrooms, adding more than $193 million to the cost for a state-only funded and run system.

Many high-quality, private, community-based programs have space, but families cannot afford the cost. In mixed-delivery systems of public and private providers, contributions from parents and private foundations can continue to be part of the picture, thus lowering the state’s share. Successful models exist across the country.

» There will be quality control. With contractual requirements, we could implement standards, including curriculum expecta- tions. Public and private, community-based schools would have the same expectations linked to child outcomes.

» We will be able to leverage federal funds. Federal funding is becoming more available to states wishing to create prekindergarten options. However, they all require partnering with private, community-based providers. Without the amendment, current state law precludes us from qualifying for this funding.

» It will assist Head Start, if needed. Head Start ensures our poorest children have the opportunity for early childhood education. If these essential programs lose federal funding (e.g., via sequestration), we could help them with supplemental funds.

The Executive Office on Early Learning was established in 2012 to build a comprehensive early learning system — the same year in which junior kindergarten was eliminated because the Legislature found it not necessarily developmentally appropriate for younger children. Our plans involve a mixed-delivery system of public and private, community-based providers.

This fall, through collaboration between this office and the DOE, prekindergarten classrooms will be offered on some public school campuses across the state. Passage of the constitutional amendment in November would allow us to involve private, community-based providers as an integral part in expanding access to quality early childhood education.