Culver rips Branstad for '20th Century thinking'

CEDAR RAPIDS – Gov. Chet Culver ripped Republican challenger Terry Branstad for “20th Century thinking” that would take state funding away from a Cedar Rapids preschool rather than expand those programs to include all Iowa four-year olds.

“This is an investment we cannot afford to not make in the future,” Culver said about the preschool initiative. He said he budgeted $90 million this year for the program and $115 million next year.

That's one of many differences between Culver and Branstad, a four-term Republican governor, who has called for ending funding for voluntary preschool, the first-term Democrat said during a stop at Waypoint Uptown Kids Child Development Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.

“While we want to continue to fund preschool … Terry Branstad wants to take that away,” Culver said.

On the day following Branstad's primary election victory, Culver attacked the Republican nominee, saying Branstad would end state-funded stem cell research, limit women's right to have abortions and would take away flood recovery funding for Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

“He doesn't have the courage to come over here and tell people how he's going to help,” Culver said.

After he and his wife, Mari, read “The King, the Mice and the Cheese” to four- and five-year-olds at Waypoint, Culver said another 4,500 Iowa children will be able to attend a quality preschool in the coming year thanks to legislative approval of the fourth-year of a preschool initiative.

The fiscal 2011 funding will assist an additional 150 school districts and school district collaborations under the statewide voluntary preschool program, he said. It is projected that during the 2010-2011 school year about 21,354 four-year-olds will be served by the preschool program in 326 school districts across the state.

“Four years ago when I was elected, I promised Iowa's families a voluntary preschool program. In partnership with the Legislature we funded the last installment of my four-year, $60 million commitment to preschool,” Culver said. “And we are not going to stop there.  By the 2011-2012 school year every 4-year-old whose family chooses to enroll them in this program will have access to a quality preschool in their community.”

Under the program, school districts are required to collaborate with parents, families, community organizations, business representatives, and other partners in developing their application or implementing the program, the governor said. In addition, program standards outline what is meant by quality, including having a certified teacher in the classroom.

The state Department of Education received 146 applications representing 150 districts across Iowa that plan to offer at least 10 hours a week of quality preschool instruction. All the districts that applied this year for the program grant and met required qualifications received funding, DOE officials said.

For a full list of Iowa school districts that participate in the statewide voluntary preschool program for 4-Year-Old Children and for more information about the program, please visit http://tinyurl.com/24dlmcq.

Rod Boshart in Des Moines contributed to this report