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Oregon panel touts full-day kindergarten
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | No comments posted.
SALEM (AP) - A Senate commission voted this week to move ahead with a plan that its members say would put Oregon among the leading states in funding early childhood education.
The proposal would expand the Head Start program, reduce class sizes in grades one through three and bring full-day kindergarten to every school district in the state.
Members of the Senate Commission on Educational Excellence said the package would be a cost-effective way to improve education in Oregon.
“We wanted to pick an area where we could make the biggest difference in the life of kids,” said Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, the commission co-chair.
The proposal, however, is still in its draft stages and the commission has yet to pinpoint how it would be paid for, though a potential increase in the minimum corporate income tax would fund some of the package.
The commission is comprised of educators, legislators, parents and business representatives appointed by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. It will hold hearings on its recommendations in the fall and hope to have the plan ready for action by the 2007 Legislature.
Fifteen percent of Oregon school districts currently offer full-day kindergarten in at least some of their schools. Expanding it to all Oregon schools would cost the state $73 million over the next two years, according to an estimate from the Legislative Revenue Office.
That money would cover three-fourths of the cost of the program. School districts would be required to pay the other 25 percent.
Class-size reduction would begin in 2009, according to the proposal, and it is estimated to cost $120 million a year when fully implemented.
The Oregon proposal is to increase enrollment in Head Start programs for 3- and 4-year-olds by 3,296 pupils, which would mean that 80 percent of eligible low-income families would be enrolled.
Jennifer Olson, state director of early childhood services, said 80 percent is the level that state officials think would cover all eligible families who wanted the service. That would cost $40 million over the next two years. Currently, about 59 percent of eligible children are served in state or federal Head Start programs.
The proposal would expand the Head Start program, reduce class sizes in grades one through three and bring full-day kindergarten to every school district in the state.
Members of the Senate Commission on Educational Excellence said the package would be a cost-effective way to improve education in Oregon.
“We wanted to pick an area where we could make the biggest difference in the life of kids,” said Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, the commission co-chair.
The proposal, however, is still in its draft stages and the commission has yet to pinpoint how it would be paid for, though a potential increase in the minimum corporate income tax would fund some of the package.
The commission is comprised of educators, legislators, parents and business representatives appointed by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. It will hold hearings on its recommendations in the fall and hope to have the plan ready for action by the 2007 Legislature.
Fifteen percent of Oregon school districts currently offer full-day kindergarten in at least some of their schools. Expanding it to all Oregon schools would cost the state $73 million over the next two years, according to an estimate from the Legislative Revenue Office.
That money would cover three-fourths of the cost of the program. School districts would be required to pay the other 25 percent.
Class-size reduction would begin in 2009, according to the proposal, and it is estimated to cost $120 million a year when fully implemented.
The Oregon proposal is to increase enrollment in Head Start programs for 3- and 4-year-olds by 3,296 pupils, which would mean that 80 percent of eligible low-income families would be enrolled.
Jennifer Olson, state director of early childhood services, said 80 percent is the level that state officials think would cover all eligible families who wanted the service. That would cost $40 million over the next two years. Currently, about 59 percent of eligible children are served in state or federal Head Start programs.
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