California First 5, Meet the Terminator

In a speech Tuesday morning about the state of education in California, state schools chief Jack O'Connell described the current condition of California schools as "precarious." He is hardly exaggerating. California's budget deficit sits at $41.6 billion, and O'Connell said education may be cut by $10 billion.

One program slated for the budget axe in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 2010 budget is First 5, a program that funds a wide range of early childhood programs, including preschools, health services, and parent collaboration programs. The governor's budget eliminates funding for the state-wide First 5 commission, which has been receiving 20 percent of the money authorized for the First 5 program. (That allocation is used primarily for media campaigns and program coordination.) The budget also halves funding for the 58 local commissions, which are responsible for determining exactly where money should be spent and disbursing funds. The governor said he plans to redirect the $275 million saved by these cuts to other state programs that serve children.

This is the latest blow to First 5, a program that has struggled in recent years to retain credibility in the eyes of policymakers and the public. Indeed, this is not just about the fate of First 5, but about how to structure services for young children generally.

First 5 is the product of a 1998 ballot initiative, Proposition 10, and its star-studded campaign spearheaded by Hollywood magnate Rob Reiner. Proposition 10 levied a 50-cent tax on cigarettes, which now generates about $580 million a year for the state and local First 5 commissions.

Recent state audits of the program, however, found evidence of lax accounting and inappropriate spending. A 2006 audit found that First 5 dollars were going to finance extracurriculars like belly-dancing classes. Last year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that some First 5 programs in the Bay Area used First 5 grants to pay for a Santa Claus costume and a trip to the Jelly Belly factory.

State Sen. Dave Cox, who introduced the legislation to cut funding for First 5, also criticized the program for hoarding funds and failing to demonstrate positive results of its programs.

Providers and beneficiaries of preschools and other initiatives funded by First 5 continue to defend the program, saying that a few isolated problems should not put millions of dollars for preschools and doctor visits in jeopardy. Still, given the audits' revelations and the salience of the accusations in editorial pages, it is not surprising that lawmakers tasked with finding excessive expenditures to cut -- especially a longtime critic of First 5 like Sen. Cox -- set their red pens on First 5.

We admit, it is a no-win situation. Cuts have to be made somewhere and the allegations against First 5 are troubling. But there is a bigger issue at stake here. The budget crisis that has forced First 5 to the edge of a fiscal cliff should also force policymakers to a much needed reevaluation of the complex patchwork of early childhood services in the state.

A recent report from the RAND Corporation found nearly a dozen programs in California that focus on early childhood education and development - including First 5, Head Start and the California state preschool program - but said that many are underfunded and have a long way to go on quality, especially instructional quality.

Californians have been notably finicky when it comes to state funding for early education. The First 5 initiative passed with narrow voter support in 1998, and in 2006, voters said "no" to a proposal for universal preschool. Gov. Schwarzenegger and the legislature followed-up with a proposal for a more modest, $50 million preschool program, which passed.

Comprehensive plans for education, including the 2006 "Master Plan for Education" and the recommendations of the State P-16 Council, which were released Tuesday with the State of Education address, include universal preschool and better birth-to-five programs. This is the right way to go.

State law requires that any amendments to propositions -- including Sen.Cox's budget cuts to Proposition 10/First 5 -- get final approval from voters after being passed by the legislature. That means First 5 may land on the ballot again, and any final cuts may actually be several months away.

If so, let's hope that instead of the severe politicization that has plagued early education proposals in California in recent years, the process prompts a needed discussion about the vision for early education in the state, and how programs like First 5 fit into it.