As any 4-year-old who’s played musical chairs knows, declining resources result in chaos and some children inevitably get left out. This month, parents are receiving a harsh reminder of this age-old truth.

Decades of research have persuaded educators, economists and business leaders that investing in quality early childhood education is one of the most effective and cost-efficient uses of tax dollars we can make.

Gov. Tom Corbett made a campaign promise to sustain Pennsylvania’s system of early childhood education for children from 0 to 5. His original budget proposed level funding most early learning programs for young children. At the same time it eliminated the Accountability Block Grant, which many school districts (including seven in Delaware County), use to pay for full-day kindergarten.

In response to public outcry, House majority leaders released their own proposal, which would restore 40 percent of the Accountability Block Grant.

But in a move worthy of musical chairs, they want to swipe $45 million from the child-care budget, cutting child-care subsidy and Keystone STARS, the state’s child-care quality-improvement program. Without them, the system – which also includes high-quality Pre-K, Head Start and Early Intervention – falters.

Most people, including our elected officials, don’t realize how expensive child care is these days; in Delaware County it costs more than $18,500 a year for a toddler and a preschooler. For a low-income working family earning 200 percent of poverty ($44,700), that’s more than 40 percent of annual income!

The state has recognized it’s a lot cheaper to remove barriers to parental employment by supporting child care than having parents who are unemployed. And thanks to Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS program, these parents can be assured their children are gaining valuable cognitive, social and emotional skills preparing them to succeed in school and stay on track to graduate.

In recent years children have shown markedly improved educational outcomes as a result of these programs. During the 2009-10 program year, preschoolers who participated in Pennsylvania’s high-quality early education programs made progress in all skill areas, with 97-99 percent completing the year with age-appropriate or emerging age-appropriate language, math and social skills.

Children need full-day kindergarten to sustain the skills they acquire in early learning programs during their first five years. Parents and taxpayers need it to ensure we are reaping the full benefit of our investment in early childhood education and preparing the leaders of tomorrow.

When they return to Harrisburg after the primary our state legislators should stop playing games. They know children need access to quality child care, full-day kindergarten and a good K-12 education.

They also know the only way to pay for this is by tapping into the state’s expected $500 million budget surplus and eliminating corporate tax loopholes like the one enjoyed by the Marcellus Shale drillers.

Unless our state legislators act quickly, many kids won’t have chairs to sit on next year.

Christie Balka is director of Child Care and Budget Policy for Public Citizens for Children and Youth in Philadelphia.

Delaware County Times – May 25, 2011 – Read article online