Commentary: Letter to the Editor

To the Editor, 
As a daughter of a preschool program director, Save the Children Action Network Club member and Drake Freshman interested in pursuing a career in early education, I was gravely disappointed in the school funding package passed by the Iowa legislature and signed by Governor Reynolds last month. Due to funding levels, preschools will suffer drastic deficits – with over $7 million in cuts to the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program – over 2,600 Iowa children who rely on publicly funded preschool will not be able to attend. 
I attended preschool when I was younger, and through my mom’s work, I’ve seen early learning make a huge difference in children’s lives. Lawmakers need to understand that cuts to preschool are unacceptable.
COVID-19 closures caused several programs like my mom’s to strike a balance between providing critical early learning, and keeping her staff and community safe from a deadly pandemic. This impacted enrolment at her program, which is important because in Iowa, the preschool program for low-income families is funded based on previous year’s enrolment. Funding cuts will not only impact programs like my mom’s this year, but affect her ability to offer slots to low-income families in the future.
Further, cuts to preschool funding do not meet Iowa Governor Reynolds’ recommendations for expanding child care and preschool programs to meet the demands of our workforce, especially as we recover from the pandemic. (https://governor.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/GovAdvisoryBoard_Report_112020_F.pdf , Page 12)
Let’s urge legislators to fund preschool programs this session, so that all children can access early learning. https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find 
Fiona Donnelly
Elementary Education Major
Student Ambassador, Save the Children Action Network