Prostitutes and Pre-K

By now anyone with access to a television, radio, newspaper, or internet connection knows that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has become ensnared in a federal investigation into an interestate prostitution ring. It’s a major disappointment for both his family and the people of the state of New York. The internets are abuzz with speculation about the salacious details and whether or not Spitzer will step down as governor. As a family blog, we’ll eschew the tawdry aspects of this story to ask a substantive question: What does this mean for early education in New York State?

New York’s been a happening state on early education lately. Last year Spitzer, who made pre-k expansion and school reform key planks of his 2006 election campaign, and the legislature increased universal pre-k funding by nearly 50 percent, expanding pre-k access to another 44,000 four-year-olds after years of stagnant funding under Gov. George Pataki. Pre-K Now, a national advocacy group on high-quality pre-k, has lauded Spitzer’s efforts on behalf of early education, and he’s also won raves from school reformers for his support for accountability, charter schools, and school finance reform. New York still has a long way to go on pre-k however: Even the increased funding covers only half of the state’s four-year-olds, the expansion has faced a host of implementation challenges, and charter schools still aren’t allowed to offer pre-k. The state also lags behind in linking pre-k with K-3 school reform efforts.

Do Spitzer’s woes threaten New York’s progress to date on early education, undermine his education reform agenda, or jeopardize future funding increases needed to make pre-k truly universal? Most likely not. The New York legislature, including powerful Assembly Chairman Sheldon Silver, has been a driving force in pushing greater pre-k funding even during the Pataki years. And New York also has a strong network of advocates supporting quality pre-k. The most serious potential consequence of the Spitzer scandal for education and children’s issues is probably its impact on the composition of the New York State Senate. A special election last month put Democrats one seat away from taking control of the State Senate for the first time in more than 40 years. Spitzer’s scandal could undermine Democratic efforts to gain a Senate majority, and if he resigns and is succeeded by Lt. Governor David Paterson, the Senate would also lose Paterson as a Democratic tie-breaking vote. This could affect education legislation. Paterson, who would be New York’s first African American governor, is not particularly associated with early education, but does have a strong record of supporting education funding and reform.

Parents and teachers in New York are likely to face a lot of akward moments over the next few days as children start asking them why the governor is in so much trouble. We wish them luck. Fortunately, there are reasons to hope this won’t have more serious consequences for New York State kids.

UPDATE: It looks like Spitzer is going to resign today.