It is no surprise that Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was lauded in the nation’s capital as a “profile in courage” for his unrelenting stand that pre-K for 4-year-olds is critical to the future of this state.He put money behind it, budgeting some $20 million to expand the nationally praised program. If it held, it would have given an education head start for 5,000 more 4-year-old Alabamians.
But a House Education Appropriations Committee sliced Riley’s recommendation in half, cutting with it better educational opportunities for youngsters across this state.
Riley is remaining steadfast in the face of opposition, fighting to retain the funding and keep Alabama’s pre-K program moving in the right direction.
And we think he’s right.
Sylacauga’s Margaret Morton, a longtime advocate of pre-K whose work is heavily involved in it through her directorship of a family resource center, knows he’s right, too.
“… There are excellent long-term effects from high-quality pre-K programs,” she said in an interview this past week.
And since Alabama’s program is ranked in the top two nationally, it would naturally follow that the long-term impact of a fully funded program would be far reaching on the state’s schoolchildren.
It takes more courage to stand strong for the programs that look beyond the immediate budget crisis than to simply slash their funding in half. We encourage others to join Riley in this fight and keep funding and expanding pre-K until it gives every 4-year-old in this state an equal chance at a better future.
