Eagle Forum| Back to July Ed Reporter |
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| NUMBER 246 | THE NEWSPAPER OF EDUCATION RIGHTS | JULY 2006 |
| Government-Run Preschool Rejected by California Voters | |
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Proposition 82 would have established free statewide government-regulated universal preschool for every 4-year-old in the state. The estimated $2.4 billion plan was to be funded by a 1.7% tax on incomes exceeding $400,000 for individuals or $800,000 for couples. Hollywood director Rob Reiner led the charge in support of universal preschool. Reiner also chaired the state's First 5 California Children and Families Commission until his March 30th resignation. Prior to resigning, Reiner took a leave of absence following conflict of interest allegations due to his affiliation with the Commission and his activism promoting Prop 82. The Commission spent $23 million in state funds for pro-preschool advertising during petition signature gathering; this prompted legislators to order an audit. Prop 82 opponents criticized the measure for creating a "preschool bureaucracy" and having little to do with raising preschool enrollment. Anti-Prop 82 television commercials urged fixing the K-12 school system before entering the preschool arena.
Plans for more funds anyway |
