OPPONENTS FACE OFF OVER PROP. 82 FREE-PRESCHOOL MEASURE HOTLY DEBATED.

Byline: HARRISON SHEPPARD Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- With the goal of offering every California 4-year-old free preschool, creators of Proposition 82 seek to fund such a program by boosting income taxes on the state's wealthy.

In the increasingly heated debate over the issue, supporters say preschool helps child development and learning while opponents contend the program would put some existing preschool programs out of business.

The measure would increase the income tax rate by 1.7 percent on individuals making over $400,000 and couples over $800,000, generating about $2.1 billion in its first year.

If revenue from that tax increase falls short, participants would be charged a fee so the program does not take money from the state's general fund budget.

``Proposition 82 is an historic opportunity to invest in our kids and strengthen our schools in California,'' said Nathan James, spokesman for the pro-82 campaign.

But the effort to craft Proposition 82 and get it on the ballot, led by actor-director Rob Reiner, ran into controversy earlier this year when a commission he chaired was accused of using public funds to promote the measure.

The First 5 California Children and Families Commission reportedly spent $23 million on a television ad campaign promoting the benefits of preschool even as Reiner was collecting signatures to get Proposition 82 on the ballot.

The commission was created by Reiner's Proposition 10, approved by voters in 1998, which imposes a 50-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes to fund early childhood development services such as preschool, health care and parent education. Reiner has said he removed himself from decisions about the advertising campaign, and has noted that part of the objective of the commission is to promote public awareness of preschool programs.

But critics called for an audit of the First 5 program and Reiner eventually resigned from his chairmanship in an effort to take some of the heat off Proposition 82. He continues to chair the Proposition 82 campaign, though he has been less publicly visible promoting on the measure recently.

The measure seeks to raise the standards for most existing preschool programs if they want to qualify for Proposition 82 funding. That includes smaller teacher-student ratios, higher credentialing and salary requirements for teachers, and new state-developed curriculum standards.

Advocates say the goal is not just to increase access to preschool, but to improve the quality of existing preschool programs throughout the state by standardizing the curriculum and quality of the staff.

Opponents say some of their objections are based on those new criteria. Requiring preschool teachers to have more schooling will make it harder to recruit and retain them, while increasing the costs to schools, they argue. Also, some critics say preschool curricula are better left to the local organizations that run the programs, rather than being governed by a state mandate.

Bruce Fuller, director of the Policy Analysis for California Education Center at University of California at Berkeley, said surveys have shown parents are more concerned with their children's social development at preschool age -- their ability to get along with others and make friends in a classroom setting -- than academic skills like memorizing the alphabet or counting to 50.

``It's a big policy decision about whether we now move away from parents' preferences to the priority of state politicians, which is more focused on raising test scores,'' Fuller said. ``That is not a bad thing, but it just doesn't match what parents report wanting for preschool.''

Additionally, many opponents of the measure note that it will be funding preschool for many middle- and upper-class families who can already afford to send their children to preschool.

Another concern is that existing preschool programs that don't fit traditional standards, such as Montessori schools or church-based schools, will be left out. Mia Levi who, with her husband Evan runs six preschool programs in the Los Angeles area, including two Montessori schools, argued that the Montessori method doesn't fit within the curriculum standards of Proposition 82. For example, she noted, the method includes grouping together children of different age groups, while Proposition 82 is exclusively focused on 4-year-olds. Also, teachers trained in the Montessori method will not gain anything by earning the required additional credentials, which focus on traditional educational methods. ``As far as Montessori goes, I think the supporters of Proposition 82 are really misleading when they tell the public, `Oh, sure, we'll include Montessori schools, faith-based schools, at-home preschools,''' Levi said. ``I think they're doing that because they want the votes. The fact of the matter is Montessori schools cannot really participate in this program.''

But Scott Moore, who runs a Montessori school in Oakland, believes his and others would qualify for Proposition 82 funding. ``It only funds 4-year-olds, but it doesn't mean you can't have 3-year-olds and 5-year-olds in your classroom,'' Moore said. ``It just means the state will only pay for the 4-year-olds. It's a little bit confusing, but there's nothing in Proposition 82 that eliminates mixed-age groups.''

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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