Obama says make early childhood education a priority. Illinois says, “Think again.”
President Obama has argued that early childhood education will be the hallmark of his pro-education agenda and the recipient of education stimulus money.
Watch this 90 second clip from an interview with the Des Moines Register during the presidential campaign:
Tuesday, the Illinois Board of Education, acting in response to the failure of the governor and the legislature to fund a real budget, cut $1oo million, one third, of the budget for early childhood education in the state.
“It’s unconscionable that Illinois lawmakers have put politics before the most vulnerable children in our state,” said Diana Rauner, executive director of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, an advocacy organization for early-childhood development programs.
“Without high-quality early-childhood programs, low-income children will arrive at kindergarten unprepared and will struggle throughout their school years to catch up,” Rauner said.
