The new state budget includes additional funds to expand state preschool access for low-income kids.
• $100 million to add 8,877 full-day preschool slots over four years
• A 10 percent increase in the amount the state reimburses providers
• $150,000 in one-time funds to help evaluate kindergarten programs
• The state Department of Education must create a new spending plan to improve preschool quality.
State preschools will be reimbursed at a higher rate to cover rising costs from the minimum wage hike and other factors.
In addition, full-day state preschool will be expanded by almost 9,000 slots over four years. It’s not known how many of those spots will go to Inland providers.
Inland educators praised the investment, saying it will provide critical services to prepare 3- and 4-year-olds for kindergarten.
“This is a very good starting point,” said Sharon Baskett, executive director of the children and family services division for the Riverside County Office of Education. “We have a lot of work to do, but we are moving in the correct direction.”
Riverside County has a little more than 9,100 children enrolled in state preschool programs. San Bernardino County serves about 2,600.
As of July 1, preschools will get a 10 percent increase in the amount they are reimbursed by the state to offer services, Baskett said.
The reimbursement for half-day preschool will rise from $5,967 per child per year to $6,565.
Baskett noted the amount is less than the $8,692 the county receives for federal Head Start programs.
“We’re seeing it turn around slowly,” she said.
Latashia Kelly, full-day coordinator of the Allred Child Development Center in San Bernardino, said she expects to serve an additional 80 kids in full-day programs that now enroll about 200 children.
Children in the program learn to spell their names, as well as numbers, colors and shapes, and can recognize the alphabet and count to at least 30, with some reaching 100, Kelly said.
“Without the service, they will probably be at home running around or on the computer and watching TV all day instead of getting the skills they need to go to kindergarten,” Kelly said.
Getting reimbursed more dollars will allow the center, operated by the San Bernardino City Unified School District, to buy books parents can take home and read to their children, she said.
The additional funds will help the Riverside Unified School District expand services from 15 to 17 schools and offer afternoon classes at some sites that only have morning preschool, said Joe Nieto, coordinator of the district’s early-childhood and family education programs. The district serves 630 children in its state preschool program.
Nieto said some state money will pay for teacher training and coaching as well as remodeling projects, including playground and classroom renovations, new furniture and learning materials.
“It’s significant for us,” Nieto said of the new state dollars. “It will allow us to plan our year out in a more effective manner because we will be able to count on steady funding.”
The Lake Elsinore Unified School District is considering adding 24 slots – half for special education students – and may convert some half-day spaces to full-day ones, said Frieda Brands, children and family services director. The district has 352 children in the state preschool program.
Most of the state money will be used to cover a 6 percent pay raise approved last school year for district teachers and staff. A smaller amount will be used for materials and supplies, she said.
“It’s a great sigh of relief because I know salaries will be covered,” Brands said.
The Family Service Association, a nonprofit operating early care and education programs at 11 locations, including Riverside, Moreno Valley and Hemet, will use the state money to raise the pay of its roughly 45 lead teachers from about $16 an hour to at least $18, said Judith Wood, chief operating officer. The agency serves about 2,000 kids in the state preschool program.