Daniels Making Full-Day Kindergarten A Priority

http://www.wsbt.com/ ^ | 9 21 06 | wsbt.com

[freepatriot32]

This year it was the Toll Road lease. Next year when lawmakers return to the Indiana Statehouse, the hot topic will be full-day kindergarten.

Governor Mitch Daniels is making it one of his top priorities, and now we know how much statewide all day kindergarten would cost. Daniels has several plans to get it going across the state.

One would make it available for the next school year in 2007-2008. The state budget office estimates it would cost about $166 million the first year. The second year would cost about $210 million. The other plans would phase in all-day kindergarten over five years.

Supporters say all-day kindergarten gives kids a head start. Critics say they're concerned there isn't enough money to pay for it. WSBT News spoke with three state legislators Thursday and whether they thought the state could pay for it.

“We will try to find ways and means to pay for it because the Democrats have been for it for many years,” said St. Rep. B. Pat Bauer (D, South Bend).”

“I think it's a matter of priorities,” St. Rep. Craig Fry (D, Mishawaka) told WSBT News. “Anything is doable if we prioritize the money and spend it effectively.”

“I'm just not sure that we're actually there yet to even be talking about are we on the same page, let alone do we have the money,” said St. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R, Lakeville).

Governor Daniels told the Indianapolis Star that if lawmakers continue to be tight with money in the next two-year budget, he thinks the state will be in a position to do this.

[freepatriot32]

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this guy is a (allegedly)republican I just hope he enjoys his one and only term as governor hes going to get his butt handed to him in the next election

[mtbopfuyn]

There's still debate over this? Good grief, eons ago I rode a dinosaur to my all day kindergarten.

[little jeremiah]

Why not just move the entire population into hives? It'll be easier to maintain them all that way.

[freepatriot32]

the only thing needed to improve education in this country isto throw tons more money at it. Where have we been hearing that for the last 30 years? now thesmaller less intrusive government republicans are getting in on the act. arent they suppose to be smarter then the dems? Apparently not

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[FroedrickVonFreepenstein]

Put me on the LP ping list, please.

[Issaquahking]

You've got freepmail.

[digger48]

Between this and the 8AM darkness/10PM daylight, Mitch is making it awfully hard to keep defending him

[digger48]

Between this and the 8AM darkness/10PM daylight, Mitch is making it awfully hard to keep defending him

[metmom]

ping

[Samwise]

I honestly do not get the Hoosier obsession with all-day kindergarten.

When my daughter went to Kindergarten, the only thing she learned how to do was misbehave. She unlearned all the good things her great teachers at preschool had taught her. Fortunately, she had a very stern first grade teacher who was (with a lot of patience) able to get her back on track.

Whenever the topic of all-day kindergarten comes on the television, the same daughter goes into a rant about those little monsters in kindergarten being wild and uncontrollable because they have no attention span. Of course, this makes me chuckle.

As an explanation, the older students at her school have to work in the kindergarten classes to help the teachers. She had to serve her time. :^)

Preschool was great for her. It gave me a short break a couple of days a week, but kindergarten was awful. I always came home from class with a headache when I volunteered. There were too many little hellions running around. Preschool was fun to volunteer for--half the kids and twice the number of teachers. I certainly wouldn't want all-day kindergarten. My guess is that people want it so they don't have to pay for child care.

[Samwise]

We love daylight savings time.

[Mr. Lucky]

After 16 years of democrats in the State House, all Daniels had to do was...do nothing. We Hoosiers would like nothing more than for the government to leave us alone to order our own lives, to spend our own money, to raise our own families. This putz had to decide that he was smarter than the rest of us.

[Miss Marple]

Understand the dislike of DST, although the entire rest of the country seems to have survived it for many years.

My husband and I have come to appreciate it. We actually had time to get the entire yard mowed after he came home from work yesterday. Since it is raining today, I am GLAD we had that extra daylight.

[jackv]

Yep. I am waiting on the toll road thing to see if it pays off but the time change thing ticks me off every single day.
All day kindergarten??? It is offered at our schools and many attend. The thing is, kindergarten isn't even mandatory tho, so I don't get it!
I agree it is getting hard to defend Mitch Daniels!

[freepatriot32]

indiana ping

[digger48]

My biggest problem with DST, is winding down in the evening.

10-10:30, digger's still dirty and dinnerless from working in the yard/garden. Can't seem to get to bed before midnight.

[Miss Marple]

If Daniels had "done nothing" the state would be bankrupt.

I think he has been an excellent governor. He has corralled the budget, found a creative way to infuse money into the infrastructure, brought lots of industry into the state, and worked hard on streamlining the government. If he had done nothing, none of this would have been accomplished.

All-day kindergarten has its plusses and minuses. My granddaughter went to all-day kindergarten, and it helped her prepare for 1st grade. She enjoyed it, had a good teacher, and the curriculum was academic and not just "play time."

The fact is that a lot of young parents want this. If both couples are working, half-day kindergarten means arranging for transportation either to or from school in the middle of the day. The rest of the day the child is usually in day care or YMCA programs. I think it's probably best to have them in one place all day.

You folks who don't like Daylight Savings Time (and I was one who opposed it) are going to have to learn to accept change. There is good as well as bad in it, and I choose to look at the advantages rather than sitting in the corner griping.

Daniels is a great governor!

[yoe]

Ah, more money is it? Well lets look at the money spent now:

America has spent 454 billion dollars on the military, including the war in Iraq, but 536 billion dollars on public schools and our students are still outscored on the international tests.

There are two factors at work here, Political Correctness and lawsuits in stead of discipline for the class room disrupters and teachers are undereducated and not up to the task of teaching from the first grade on….yet they insist on higher pay and give back a defective product. Education is wallowing in money and any politician telling you the problem is the lack of money is simply lying or doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. Demand an accounting of the Department of Education in Washington and the Department of Education in your state on a yearly basis.

[Miss Marple]

Well, DST ends at the end of October. I think you will find you miss that daylight in the evening!

I understand somewhat. I am not one who needs much sleep, however, so staying up late isn't a hardship for me.

[Mr. Lucky]

I'm wholly capable of setting my own clock, investing my own funds and raising my own children... and as a young parent I never worried that my children weren't getting enough government training.