Child headed to preschool this fall? Better start saving now

July 02--As school ends and summer begins, families are busy making plans for the beach, backyard barbecues and weekend getaways.

But for some, specifically those with young children, the summer will be spent saving money to pay for next year's preschool bill.

"The reality is that the cost of child care outpaces what families can afford," said Kim Davenport, managing director of Birth to 3rd Grade Alignment at Edward Street Child Services, a nonprofit in Worcester. "It's a huge percentage of families' cost of living, so it becomes very difficult to make ends meet when they have one child and even more often when they have two."

Without taxpayer support, Massachusetts families pay between $12,000 and $18,000 per child for preschool and early-childhood care per year. And while low-income families receive subsidies through programs, such as Head Start, advocates argue it's not enough. For families that don't qualify, there's little support.

"The lower middle class is experiencing this challenge, especially as minimum wage rises," Davenport said.

In 2016, the Economic Policy Institute reported early childcare expenses in Massachusetts exceed the cost for college. The think tank calculated the average annual cost for a 4-year-old totaled $12,781, which is nearly 20 percent more than the annual cost of in-state tuition for a four-year public college.

The expense is likely contributing to the fact that 67,470 -- or about 30 percent -- of preschool-age children in Massachusetts don't currently receive any formal education, according to Strategies for Children. Titus DosRemedios, director of research and policy at the Boston nonprofit, says most families don't have the means.

"Across Massachusetts, people are ready for more preschool," DosRemedios said. "Parents want this learning opportunity for their children but often can't afford it or are on waiting lists."

Solving for the issue, however, isn't simple, and a large part of it stems from cost.

Indeed, a similar dynamic played out with full-day kindergarten, which took years and millions of dollars to unravel. In 2000, 29 percent of kindergarten-age children attended full-day school, which most educators agree contributed to a significant achievement gap, echoing the argument made today for preschool expansion.

The state started allocating millions of dollars to support full-day kindergarten across the commonwealth. Today, 293 of the 351 Massachusetts municipalities offer tuition-free, full-day kindergarten. And while the state stopped funding the effort after fiscal 2017, most school districts continue to make room in local budgets to pay for it.

Marshfield in April became one of about 10 school districts to approve tuition-free, full-day kindergarten this year. The decision was lauded by a group of vocal parents, who advocated for the change for years.

"Universal (full-day kindergarten) has passed!" Erin Russo, a Marshfield parent, posted to the Facebook group Full Day Kindergarten for Marshfield. "I know our children and educators are grateful."

But it took Massachusetts 18 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to get to this point, which raises questions about the realities of mitigating the high cost of preschool. The state in fiscal 2017 allocated upward of $18 million for full-day kindergarten, which is less costly than preschool.

Making preschool more affordable, nonetheless, has garnered some support over the years. In 2014, the state received a four-year, $60 million Preschool Expansion Grant, or PEG, from the U.S. Department of Education. The money went toward expanding preschool programs in Boston, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell and Springfield, and has helped about 850 children each year attend preschool in those communities.

Building off those results, the state allocated grant funding from fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2018 for cities and towns to create preschool expansion plans. The plans are supposed to serve as blueprints for what it would take to set up the infrastructure for private-public systems should more money be made available. Eighteen communities have received the grants, including Athol, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Somerville, Worcester and Salem.

"Eighteen Massachusetts communities have solid plans for preschool expansion and are waiting for new public dollars to begin implementation," DosRemedios said. "State and local funding can help level the playing field for young children and provide more families with access to early learning programs."

The plans are in place, but the funding hasn't yet emerged. And there's no new money proposed for preschool expansion in the fiscal 2019 budget, according to advocates.

Lawmakers, faced with competing demands in education, have decided this year to tackle the thorny issue of pay for early educators.

The average salary for early educators is about $27,000, according to Davenport, which pales in comparison to the $40,000 offered to entry-level public school teachers. The low salaries make it difficult to attract qualified candidates, resulting in high turnover and personal angst, according to Lisa P. Kuh, director of early education at Somerville Public Schools.

"Many of the providers are one step away from the low-income families they serve," Kuh said. "They're barely making above poverty wages."

School districts, including Somerville, are forced to get creative in bringing educational parity to preschool-age children. Kuh runs a small summer program for 70 to 80 rising kindergarteners, targeting English Language Learners and children without any prior formal education.

She and her team also provide professional development support to community-based programs, an effort that doesn't receive any designated funding.

"We're running on a lot of goodwill," Kuh quipped.

Beyond the budget, advocates are lobbying for a separate piece of legislation called the Act Ensuring High Quality Early Education. The bill addresses several related policy issues, including child care rates, scholarships and preschool expansion. There's no funding attached to the legislation, but it could serve as a funding vehicle in future years, and ultimately help drive down the cost of preschool for families.

Early education advocates, while not blind to the competing demands of the Massachusetts public school system, are nonetheless adamant the research is clear regarding the need for better access to early education if the Bay State wants to avoid attainment gaps and related expenses down the road.

"The earliest years set the foundation for later learning and life success," Davenport said. "The investment we make there now pays incredible dividends later. We know it. We have the science. We have the economics. We have the long-term outcomes. Now we need the investment."

Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Email him at esherman@wickedlocal.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.

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