Many Preschools Lack Funding
CONCORD, Calif. (KCBS) _ Preschool funding is not getting the kind of attention it deserves according to several Bay Area preschool advocates, law enforcement officers and state legislators.
They gathered at the Cambridge Child Development Center in Concord on Tuesday and Concord Police Chief David Livingston said more funding for preschool makes perfect sense.
"Over the long run, high quality preschool saves up to $16 for every dollar invested early," said Livingston. "Those savings come through reduced crimes and other costs including education."
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He was joined by state Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, a former school teacher, who said Congress needs to include significant funding for preschools when it considers reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act.
"50 percent of our young people in the inner city-urban schools come from poverty or come from English-learner households and they are dropping out," he said. "You start early, you're going to have those young people getting the socialization in school."
More than $1.5 billion is spent each year on special education services in the Bay Area, but only $117 million is allocated to state-funded preschool programs.
