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WAIANAE, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii is the only state with a constitution that bars public money from going to private preschool programs, but voters on Nov. 4 will get a chance to change that distinction.
Until a handful of preschool classrooms opened up at some public schools this year, Hawaii was one of 10 states without publicly funded preschool. In an effort to expand the number of children who have access to preschool, voters are being asked to amend the state constitution.
Supporters say it will help children in a state where 42 percent start kindergarten without any early learning opportunities.
"We hear from kindergarten teachers they're spending the first six months getting kids to where they should be," said Deborah Zysman, executive director of the Good Beginnings Alliance, which is leading a campaign to vote yes on the constitutional amendment.
The ballot measure is being opposed by the Hawaii State Teachers Association, which says it will lead to a voucher system for children to attend private preschools, which tend to be in more populated, affluent neighborhoods and where average tuition is $800 a month.
"The HSTA and Hawaii's public school teachers want to ensure that all of our children are treated fairly and equitably," said Wil Okabe, the union's president, adding that the amendment "will only benefit a few at the sacrifice of the state's neediest families."
It's not clear how the amendment would be implemented, including how money will be disbursed and no specified amount of money is attached to the vote. It would be up to legislators to approve funds.
The state Department of Education hasn't taken a position on the question.
The state Legislature allocated $3 million for a one-year pilot preschool program at 18 public schools, serving about 420 students. Supporters of the ballot question say it costs too much to implement preschool at all public schools, especially at campuses that are strapped for space. And they say it would take too long.
A priority of Gov. Neil Abercrombie's failed re-election campaign was to offer state-funded preschool to Hawaii's 17,000 4-year-olds using a combination of public and private preschool options.
But the state attorney general pointed out the Hawaii constitution's unique prohibition.
Abercrombie lost the Democratic primary to state Sen. David Ige, who opposes the proposed amendment and calls it ill-conceived, partly because private preschools aren't in needy areas.
"Even though tax dollars would go to private schools, there are no cost estimates, no details of how the program will work, and no indication that all children will have an equal opportunity to enroll in a private preschool," he said.
There are about 400 licensed preschools across the islands.
One early childhood education program that could benefit from the amendment is INPEACE, a nonprofit group, that operates free Keiki Steps programs along the Waianae Coast, low-income communities that's home to a high concentration of Native Hawaiians and limited preschool options.
It relies on federal funding, but that money is set to run out at year's end.
The program has all the trappings of a normal preschool, except for one detail: One recent morning, children ranging from infants to 4-year-olds were nestled in the laps of their mothers, grandmothers, a great aunt and a father. Having adults there was borne out of Hawaiian culture that values kupuna — elders — as caregivers.
Programs like Keiki Steps are necessary options for families who chose not to send children to preschool because of mistrust of institutions, cultural values or other reasons, Zysman said.
The only preschool settings Ninia Elsey would trust for her children are Keiki Steps or programs run by Kamehameha Schools, which gives admissions preference to those of Native Hawaiian ancestry. And the mom of six would only feel comfortable with a Kamehameha preschool for a child who's at least 4.
"There's no away I would send them away," she said, as she helped her son, Lahaina, 3, with a shape-learning game at Keiki Steps' site at Makaha Elementary School. Her 5-month-old son, Manalei, sat in an infant chair next to her.
The program is in line with her beliefs, culturally. "We have such a focus on ohana," she said, using the Hawaiian word for family. "We're so aware of generations, the passing of generations. We think generationally, and I don't think other cultures think that way as much."
Two-generation early education has been in Hawaii for about 20 years and other states are starting to catch on to the concept, said INPEACE CEO Kanoe Naone. She said the organization has been asked to replicate their model on the mainland, in cities where immigrants share similar cultural values.
Naone worries they'll be left out if the amendment passes.
"The reality of it is there a lot of people out there who are heavily focused on getting center-based care funded," she said.
Teacher union president Okabe said public money going to programs like Keiki Steps would be palatable, but he can't support the measure on the hopes that those programs may possibly see some state funding.
"I wouldn't gamble on that," he said.
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Follow Jennifer Sinco Kelleher at http://www.twitter.com/JenHapa .
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