Hadley backs pre-K funding
HARRISBURG — Cranberry Township Supervisor Dick Hadley Monday was one of several municipal officials to speak in support of early education funding at an event in the capitol’s media room.
The rally was organized by the Pennsylvania Municipal League and Pre-K for PA, an advocacy group that wants every 3- and 4-year-old child in the state to have access to preschool.
Cranberry is a member of the municipal league and Hadley sits on its legislative committee.
“Cranberry has been a community that for a long time has believed that a great community needs great education and great schools,” he said.
“Pre-K is the first start of education for our children. At ages 3 to 4 the key concept is to get them off to a good start.”
In December, Gov. Tom Wolf did not veto the portion of the state budget that increased preschool funding by $30 million, to $136.5 million.
The 2016-17 proposed budget includes another increase of $60 million for preschools. That money would allow more than 14,000 young children to access preschool during a two-year period, according to a news release from Pre-K for PA.
Taxpayers and municipalities will see a good return on investment if more money is allocated to preschool, Hadley said.
Studies have shown that in areas with well-funded preschool programs, special education enrollment drops by about 50 percent, he said.
Special education is costly for school districts and can drive up property taxes. Better education, including preschool, also has been shown to decrease crime rates.
Pennsylvania Department of Correction secretary John Wetzel has said research shows that a $120 million funding increase for early childhood education will lead to $350 million in corrections and other cost savings for the commonwealth every year, according to the release.
In Butler County, only 22 percent of preschool-age children who live at less than 300 percent poverty income level have access to public-funded preschool. For 4-year-olds, the statewide average is 26 percent, which pales in comparison to many other states such as West Virginia, where 94 percent have access, Hadley said.
In addition to multiple private preschools, Cranberry Township has an Early Learning Center where it offers programs on a monthly tuition basis.
“We need to continue funding pre-K, it doesn’t sound like it should be a municipal effort, but it really is,” he said.
Other speakers at the event included Lancaster Mayor J. Richard Gray, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and York Mayor Kim Bracey.
