Slight Uptick for State-Funded Pre-K in 2011 Budgets

This morning, Pre-K Now released its annual “Votes Count” report, which details states’ pre-k funding for the 2011 year.

The news isn’t bad: Pre-K Now reports that total state funding for pre-k increased slightly in FY11, to $5.4 billion from $5.3 billion in 2010. In a year of fiscal cuts, a majority of states managed to maintain or improve funding levels. Further, the report points out that lawmakers from both parties are supporting these investments: the 15 states that increased funding included four in which Republicans control both the executive and legislative branches of government, three in which Democrats control both governments, and eight states in which control is split between parties.

The report also spotlights states that have been using a school funding formula to allocate funds for preschool. Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia all determine funding through their school funding formula and based on enrollment. This approach has safeguarded funding levels through the economic downturn, Pre-K Now says.

A few other highlights from this year’s “Votes Count”:

• Fifteen states and the District of Columbia increased funding by more than $105 million.
• Ten states decreased pre-k funding by approximately $32 million.
• Eleven states flat-funded their programs.
• Virginia had the biggest overall percentage increase this year, at 7.1 percent.

You can read the full report, which includes state-by-state analysis of FY11 funding and looks at school funding formulas and how states are utilizing federal money (such as Race to the Top and other stimulus funds) here.

P.S. This may be the last Votes Count report from Pre-K Now because the project is closing next year. For more on Pre-K Now’s future, see this Q-and-A with Pre-K Now’s Marci Young.