The Westchester and Rockland New York State Assembly Delegation held a press conference on Thursday, April 29 to highlight the inequity in universal pre-K funding.
Assemblymembers Amy Paulin, Ken Zebrowski, Gary Pretlow, Sandy Galef, Tom Abinanti, Steve Otis and Chris Burdick, as well as White Plains School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Ricca, Tuckahoe Schools Superintendent Dr. Amy Goodman and Childcare Resources of Rockland County Executive Director Vicki Caramante are calling upon New York State to fully fund universal fullday pre-K for Westchester and Rockland counties. New York City has been given funding for full day universal pre-K and the rest of the state deserves the same, the delegation said.
Currently, New York City receives $300 million annually under the Statewide Universal Full-day Pre-K program. Districts outside of New York City enroll more than half of the public school students throughout the state, yet are only allocated $55 million in annual funding
under the same program.
High-quality pre-K has significant benefits for children as it provides them with valuable skills to succeed in school and beyond. Studies show that children who arrive at kindergarten prepared to learn perform better throughout school and complete more years of education. Public pre-K for three- and four-year olds also enables parents of young children to return to the workforce.
The need to expand access to pre-K has been with us for many years, and the COVID-19 pandemic brings added urgency to this issue. After a year of children experiencing significant disruptions in their routines, economic insecurity, illness and loss, universal pre-K is needed so that all children can be on a path to success in kindergarten and beyond.
(Submitted)
