Fully funding 4-year-old preschool top legislative priority of Cedar Rapids schools

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids school leaders are advocating for the state to fully fund preschool for 4-year-olds — a critical component of the district’s budget to maintain a full-day preschool program at Truman Early Learning Center.

The Cedar Rapids school board sat down with four local lawmakers Monday at Truman, 441 W Post Rd, NW in Cedar Rapids, to talk about dozens of priorities school leaders have this legislative session that begins Jan. 13 in Des Moines.

The top priority discussed was fully funding preschool. Today, Iowa’s Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program provides funding to offer free, half-day preschool to 4-year-olds. But half-day programs can be a barrier for working families who are unable to find child care beforehand or afterward, or provide transportation for their kids.

The Truman Early Learning Center opened in 2022 and has been funded with federal pandemic relief dollars — the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief — over the last two years. The district has been saving those state funds to continue the full-day programming for the 2024-25 school year after the federal money ran out. There is no tuition to attend Truman.

The school partners with Champions — a national child care provider — to provide before- and after-school care to families in need, beginning at 6:30 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m.

District leaders do not yet have a plan continuing to fund full-day preschool at Truman if the Legislature does not pass a bill this session to fund all-day preschool.

Truman Principal Monica Frey said full-day preschool with before and after child care removes barriers for families and improves student achievement for life.

“Just a few hours ago, we had 320 4-year-olds eating lunch in here today,” Frey said during the meeting Monday. “That happens because we are a full-day preschool program here. We like to call it organized chaos. What we do at Truman is incredible, and I value the work of my teachers. Funding full-day preschool — we need it. We need it for our kids, we need it for our economy, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Students who attend “high-quality” preschool are 25 percent less likely to drop out of school, 40 percent less likely to become teen parents, 50 percent less likely to be placed in special education, 60 percent less likely to never attend college and 70 percent less likely to be arrested for a violent crime, school board President Cindy Garlock said.

There are more than 600 students enrolled in preschool in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, including half-day programs.

There are 66 families on the waiting list for preschool. Garlock said those families are waiting for the full-day preschool program.

“We do have openings in our half-day programs, but parents and the community want full-day 4-year-old preschool,” Garlock said.

“The research is clear that one of the greatest investments we can make as a community is investing in childhood education,” Cedar Rapids Superintendent Tawana Grover said. “We know when we start our students off right, they have a better chance of graduating ready for life.”

Lawmakers respond

Three of the lawmakers present Monday — all Democrats, who make up a minority of both chambers of the Iowa Legislature — said they support funding full-day 4-year-old preschool.

State Rep. Cindy Golding, the only Republican lawmaker present, said the “absolute cost” needs to be taken into consideration.

“K-12 education gets 54 percent of our budget. As we look for more money for education, what are we going to take it from? I think we need to use our money efficiently,” Golding said.

Rep. Tracy Ehlert, D-Cedar Rapids, said it’s “promising” there could be an increase in funding to 4-year-old preschool this session.

“It may be at risk to other early education funding, so not new dollars,” Ehlert said. “That does concern me. We can’t just steal from existing early education programs to fund others. We need new dollars to go into that. Everything I’m hearing is promising that it will be funded.”

State Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, said fully funding 4-year-old preschool has bipartisan support. “What it doesn’t necessarily have is the funding” source, she said.

But fully funding 4-year-old preschool could help reduce the number of “child care deserts” across the state, where there are inadequate numbers of child care spots available to families, Donahue said.

“If kids are in preschool, we have more seats open in day care centers, allowing more parents to get to work and alleviate some workforce issues in the state,” Donahue said.

State Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, said the majority party “needs to change its priorities and stop focusing on reducing taxes and supporting private schools.”

Legislating a statewide cellphone policy

This fall, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she’ll present a proposal to lawmakers that would bar K-12 students from having their cellphones in the classroom.

Many Eastern Iowa schools are exploring policies about cellphones in the classroom, mirroring a national trend of school districts and states restricting students’ cellphone use at schools.

Golding said she would like school officials — especially “teachers who have to take the phone away from that kid” — have a voice in the conversation.

“How is this going to be enforced? Whose going to do it, and what’s the purpose?” Golding asked.

Donohue said the state shouldn’t be taking away local control of school boards in making these decisions. Golding agreed, saying, “I would like to see the school board have the authority to make that decision.”

Other legislative priorities

Karla Hogan, the Cedar Rapids district’s chief financial officer, listed more than a dozen other priorities for the district this legislative session. They include:

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