CEOs will press for preschool

BOISE – Several dozen Idaho CEOs will ask lawmakers next year to let school districts offer preschool.

The Idaho Business Coalition for Education Excellence is supporting a change in state law so districts can spend money on children under the age of 5 – something that is now prohibited.

In draft legislation, the group emphasized that any program would be voluntary, with no cost to taxpayers.

“School districts have told us that they can raise or get alternative sources of funding,” said Ray Flachbart, CEO of Blue Cross of Idaho. “They just want the ability under state law to do that.”

Preschool, or early childhood education, has never been much of a priority in Idaho. In fact, it’s been all but outlawed in the public school system because of a statute defining school age as 5 or over.

But as education in general moves to the center of the public policy debate, leaders are taking another look at how children are prepared for kindergarten.

Advocates say it’s less expensive in the long run to get children ready for school than it is to help them catch up in the later grades when they fall behind because they never learned basic skills.

“The research that we’ve seen shows that investment in early childhood is a great investment,” said Larry Koomler, the executive vice president of Marsh Inc. and a member of IBCEE.

Idaho is one of about eight states that do not use state money for early education, said Adele Robinson, director of public policy and communications for the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Washington, D.C.

Some school districts, including Boise, offer some early education using federal money.

The business coalition spent several months discussing the early education bill before deciding earlier this year to make it a priority for their group. Now they’re talking to lawmakers to find a sponsor.

They decided a bill with no provision for spending state money was more likely to succeed.

“A lot of folks have advised us that because of the pressure of funding of K-12, it may be an uphill battle to try to seek funding for this at this stage,” Flachbart said.

John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said experience has taught him such measures face strong opposition.

“Any attempt to expand schools to under-5, except for special needs, has been not well received,” Goedde said.