State lawmakers want to spend more money on early childhood education. Under the proposed school finance act, more children would qualify for state funded preschool and school districts would get more money to offer full day kindergarten.
The extra money would mean a boost in enrollment at the Community Partnership for Child Development, who oversees the Head Start program in Colorado Springs. Noreen Landis-Tyson, CEO of the partnership says they have long waiting lists of people in need of financial assistance.
"Families who cannot afford to purchase early care and education programs but whose children need those programs to be successful will definitely benefit from the increased number of slots," Landis-Tyson said.
The proposals are just a couple of the goals established by Governor Bill Ritter's blue-ribbon education panel, which meets in Colorado Springs on Monday. The panel’s recommendations seem to reflect the idea that the best time to improve a child's education is at the beginning.
"I think the research shows that things like preschool and kindergarten, the earlier you get kids into a learning environment they better off they're going to be," said Mike Stahl, president of the Peaks Peak Education Association
The school finance act has not been yet been introduced in the house. The sponsor of the bill, Representative Jack Pommer (D) Boulder, says the money for the programs would come from excess revenue generated by a property tax freeze initiated last year.
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