Center Moriches Taxpayers Community Discussion Forum

Thousands of additional 4- and 5-year-olds on Long Island could be getting free preschool classes if the school districts where they live had chosen to take state money earmarked for the service, according to a new report that recommends expanding future access through greater cooperation between the public and private sectors.

State funds intended to prepare 3,600 children Islandwide for kindergarten went unused this year and will be eliminated at least temporarily next year - a loss to the region of more than $9 million annually.

Funds are allotted under the state's Universal Prekindergarten program, which provides a pre-kindergarten year of tuition-free classes, five days a week. About 8,100 children get services locally, state figures show.

Districts that declined to participate in the program this year will be shut out next year as well, because state lawmakers have cut back funding in response to the economic downturn.

Many of the 60 Long Island districts that don't have pre-kindergarten classes say that's part of the problem - they fear that state cutbacks will place the financial burden more on local taxpayers to pick up the cost to keep programs. Some affluent districts also say parents there are satisfied with private preschool programs they pay for on their own.

"I think we're always skeptical about the amount of money we're going to receive back from the state," said Henry Grishman, superintendent of Jericho schools and president of the State Council of School Superintendents. He added, however, that his colleagues supported the public-preschool concept.

Currently, the Island's school systems are split down the middle, with 61 participating in the state program and 60 not participating. Eight districts, including Eastport-South Manor, Herricks and Sachem, have added services this year, according to state records.

"Why should children be denied this service, just because schools don't want to do this?" said Dana Friedman, executive director of the Early Years Institute of Plainview, a nonprofit research advocacy group that encourages development of quality child-care programs.

Widespread lack of access

This week, the Early Years Institute is releasing an 83-page report, "Windows of Opportunity," that looks comprehensively at the Island's pre-kindergarten services, including widespread lack of access. The report also highlights programs it considers exemplary in Freeport, Middle Country and a dozen other local districts.

The report draws on nearly two years of research, using last year's enrollment and funding figures. Newsday obtained current year figures from the state Education Department.

More than $400 million in statewide pre-K funds, including $28 million for the Island, is funneled through school districts with elementary schools. The money pays for pre-K classes both in district schools themselves and at other sites including day care centers and private nursery schools.

The report suggests that any money unused in the future be given to districts that do participate, or to private nonprofits that could act on behalf of districts to expand or improve pre-K programs.

Parents such as Dorothy Santana, a North Babylon mother of four, agree that public preschools need to be expanded. Santana, who has urged her own district to establish a program, currently enrolls her 5-year-old in a private nursery school.

"I had to pay $170 a month, which put quite a dent in my pocket," she said.

Funding cut increased fears

Districts' fears that they might get stuck with the tab were heightened in April, when state lawmakers reduced next year's funding. As a result, many districts with preschool programs that didn't spend all their funds this year will get less next year, and districts without programs will lose funding altogether.

Some school authorities contend that unused pre-K money would best be applied to helping districts with half-day kindergartens expand those classes to full-day. About 60 districts statewide, including six on the Island, provide only half-day kindergartens now.

"Not that pre-K isn't important, it is," said David Albert, spokesman for the State School Boards Association. "But let's invest in full-day kindergarten first."