After decades of urgent calls for a statewide preschool system, a public- private plan finally is being launched to create 465 classrooms so that all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds can get access to preschool by 2032, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and community leaders are set to announce today.

“We’re basically saying any parent who wants to send their kids to an affordable preschool setting should be afforded that opportunity,” Luke said in an exclusive Honolulu Star- Advertiser interview on the plan’s details.

Right now only a little over half of the state’s 35,272 children ages 3 and 4 are being served in prekindergarten classrooms.

About 95% of those keiki in programs are at licensed private prekindergarten institutions, which can cost families hundreds of dollars to over $1,000 per month. Meanwhile, no-cost entry into public preschool seats are extremely hard to come by: Just over 900 children are served at public preschools run by the state Executive Office on Early Learning and public charter schools. About 20% of children typically opt out. That leaves an estimated 9,297 of Hawaii’s preschool-age children underserved, Luke said. (See graphic for more information.)

The “Ready Keiki” plan to generate an 465 additional classrooms at 20 children per classroom pulls together multiple strategies, Luke said, including:

>> Outfitting existing classrooms at some state Department of Education elementary schools (about 50 classrooms identified as available) and public charter schools (about 30 classrooms identified), plus some space in Hawaii’s 51 public libraries, at approximately $1 million maximum per classroom.

>> Constructing several hundred modular buildings, also popularly known as portables. They are likely to total more than 300, depending on state and private contributions, and estimated to cost a maximum of $2 million each, although Luke said she thinks the price can be brought down since they follow a template.

>> Expanding state subsidies provided under the Preschool Open Doors program to low- and moderate- income families, who use the money for private preschool providers. Currently, the subsidies are available only for 4-year-olds, but Luke estimates a $40 million request to add 3-year-olds and raise the subsidy amount, to be submitted to the Legislature, would add 1,400 seats. Other federal grants are being sought, Luke said.

>> Creating teaching classrooms at some high schools — Nanakuli, Mililani and Waipahu high schools so far have expressed interest in creating “early college” coursework for education careers, Luke said — and all 10 University of Hawaii campuses, along with leveraging the Imiloa Hawaiian Immersion program at UH Hilo to create immersion preschools.

>> Purchasing land for development close to urban work centers, and growing partnerships with the four major county governments and private employers.

The “Ready Keiki” initiative seeks to create “universal access to preschool” and not “universal preschool,” Luke said, because the latter label implies that attendance would be mandatory and the system would be wholly public.

The plan calls for at least 80 new classrooms to be ready to welcome preschool students by August 2024, plus 50 more new classrooms each following year. Students at public preschools would attend at no cost.

Total cost variable

The total tab for construction will depend on multiple factors.

The state Legislature passed Act 46 in 2020 to establish a goal to provide all keiki ages 3 and 4 with access to prekindergarten enrollment by 2032, and in 2022 approved Act 257, appropriating $200 million to build new school facilities and renovate existing facilities.

Now that the state has calculated the need at 465 more classrooms, the additional cost above the initial $200 million will be somewhere between $265 million, assuming all the classrooms were refurbished, and $730 million, assuming all were built new.

Luke said costs might be lowered by using modular construction, leveraging more existing space and cultivating private partnerships. In addition, if the Legislature increases the Open Doors Preschool subsidy, sending more keiki to private preschools, fewer new public preschool classrooms may have to be built.

On the other hand, as preschools here gain momentum, a rise in families’ demand for preschool might drive up the number of classrooms needed.

Construction decisions and budget will be “data driven” and recalibrated continually, emphasizing minimizing costs and accountability, Luke said.

While Luke is providing leadership for the preschool initiative, the Executive Office on Early Learning will handle operations, while construction will be handled by the new state School Facilities Authority, she said. The authority can receive and use investments from philanthropic and private entities, so the funding will not come entirely from taxpayer dollars, Luke said.

Luke said she’s excited about “the joining of public and private and philanthropy coming together for this important cause. In the past there may have been jurisdictional fights or disagreements on what we’re trying to achieve. But now we are at a point where we’re locked arms, joining to fulfill this commitment, which is to take care of the 3- and 4-year olds who are underserved.”

Almost two dozen state and county agencies, and private and nonprofit entities, including Kamehameha Schools, the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, are cooperating on the plan. Some of their officials are scheduled to speak at an 11 a.m. news conference today announcing the Ready Keiki initiative.

Qualified workforce

Luke acknowledged that it will take time and money to also build up a qualified workforce for the added preschool classrooms.

The federal Administration for Children and Families cites experts who recommend that one trained adult should not care for more than six to 10 preschoolers. Luke said each preschool classroom of 20 students would likely have one certified teacher with at least a four-year bachelor’s degree and one teaching assistant with at least a two-year associate’s degree.

Luke said she envisions having public preschool teachers work under certification requirements and salary schedules similar to those for Hawaii’s current public school teachers, although nothing formal has been worked out so far between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state.

The typical Hawaii teacher earned an average of $65,409 in 2020-21, according to the National Education Association.

“As we bring more public preschools up and running, we also need to figure out a way to elevate and increase the wages on the private side as well, because we don’t want to cherry-pick preschool teachers from the private sector,” Luke said. “That’s why I think the increase in subsidy through the preschool Open Doors program is really important, because what we’re hoping is that the preschool providers use the increase in subsidies to increase the pay and wages of their employees as well.”

According to the HSTA, Hawaii’s existing public schools were forced to fill teacher vacancies with more than 1,000 emergency hires and long-term substitutes in the 2018-2019 school year. Each year, more than 60,000 keiki are not taught by a Hawaii Qualified Teacher, the union said — a problem worsened by a wave of retirements and resignations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luke said UH officials have told her the teacher shortages are primarily in secondary schools. “In fact, we’ve been told there are available about 100 teachers who could go into the preschools right now,” she said.

The Ready Keiki plan estimates operational costs per classroom at $175,000 per year.

High tuition

Meanwhile, for parents suffering under the heavy burden of preschool tuition — or simply doing without preschool or other early-childhood services — new preschool supports can’t come soon enough.

Hawaii has long been ranked among the worst in providing public preschool. And high private preschool tuition has priced out many low- and middle-income families already struggling with the islands’ ever-rising cost of living. The average price of preschool in the U.S. ranges from $4,460 to $13,158 per year, according to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. That rounds to approximately $370 to $1,100 per month.

Calls for “universal preschool” in the islands date back to at least the 1990s, when a blue-ribbon panel organized by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano included it in its list of recommendations to reform Hawaii’s school system. Countless lawmakers over the years have espoused preschool access in campaign literature, speeches and legislative proposals. No state administration has offered a substantial plan until now.

“We’ve talked for decades about how getting kids ready to learn, kindergarten readiness and giving them all the tools to get them ready for school, into career, into life, was essential,” Luke said. “We have made some progress, but it has always been bits and pieces.

“I remember (then-state schools Superintendent) Charlie Toguchi making an announcement (in the 1990s) that all 3- and 4-year-olds will have access to preschool by the year 2000,” Luke continued. “I’ve told the legislators and business folks and stakeholders that year 2000 came and gone 22 years ago. So we cannot let another year go by until we make this commitment.”

PRESCHOOL EXPANSION TIMELINE

Here is the state’s timeline for the Ready Keiki initiative to create 465 new preschool classrooms through public-private strategies, according to Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke:

2023-2024

>> Prepare to break ground on new classrooms.

>> Have at least 80 new classrooms ready for operation by August 2024.

>> Request $40 million to expand Preschool Open Doors subsidies for low- and middle-income families.

2024-2032

>> Add approximately 50 new classrooms per year.

>> Purchase land to construct new prechools near areas where parents work.

>> Develop teacher career pathways at universities and high schools.

>> Partner with private businesses and nonprofit organizations to support on-site opportunities.

Source: Office of Lt. Gov. Slyvia Luke