Gov. Timothy M. Kaine wants to add another $300 million to out-of-control spending on K-12 education by creating a universal pre-school program for four-year-olds. He has appointed a Strong Start Pre-K Council to oversee development of the programs. (See the Richmond Times-Dispatch story here.)
Kaine appears to be willing to invest significant political capital into launching this program. Predictably, he will generate a lot of opposition. Writing for the Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine late last year, Chris Braunlich evinced skepticism in his column, “Does ‘Universal Pre-K’ Work?” Today, the Times-Dispatch editorial page sounded similar themes.
Color me skeptical — but open to persuasion. We have eight months until the next General Assembly session. Both sides cite social scientific research in support of their arguments. There’s no excuse for not giving that research a thorough airing.