Editorial: Don’t turn middle class into pawns

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 4:31 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

April 24 - 25, 2004

Two years ago Nevada's 17 school districts collaborated on a report for the Legislature that concluded schools were being underfunded by about $440 million a year. The districts joined forces in Carson City and asked for that amount to be added to the state education budget. Left out of the report was their estimated total cost of providing full-day kindergarten for all students in the state -- $135.5 million a year.

It was left out because they knew asking for even the extra $440 million a year was preposterous. They were right. Following a bitter fight that required two special sessions, the 2003 Legislature passed a total tax increase -- for education and other needs -- of $416.5 million a year. From that, schools received an annual extra boost of $162.5 million, a far cry from what they had requested, even without adding the cost of full-day kindergarten.

Knowing how hard it is to wring money out of the Legislature, the Clark and Washoe county school districts are now offering full-day kindergarten in select schools whose parents can afford to cover the extra cost by paying monthly tuition. Children attending at-risk schools are already eligible for full-day kindergarten, as costs for them are borne by the federal government.

Under this new approach, most children of middle-class families are left out. Rather than being an unintended consequence of expanding full-day kindergarten, the left-out middle class children are part of a political strategy. Clark County School Superintendent Carlos Garcia told the Sun that he and other district officials hope middle-class parents rise up and pressure the Legislature to fund full-day kindergarten for their children too.

We believe a straightforward appeal to the Legislature for funding is preferable to deliberately creating inequity for the middle class that could go on for years. It's not hard to envision a majority of legislators saying that if parents are willing to pay, let them -- because we're not going to. The pilot programs charging tuition would expand and soon the founding tenet of public education -- equal opportunity -- would be a sham.

The school districts, instead of forcing middle-class parents to fight a losing battle for equity, should end tuition-based full-day kindergarten. Instead, they should update their cost projections and push for the program -- for all students -- on its merits.