Deep cuts will close doors, turn away families at state preschools
In Miss Rasa's Room 3, today is the best day: There's painting, storytelling and blowing through a straw to see whether water, milk or dishwater creates more bubbles.
For children in Rasa Radavicius's class, every day seems to be good. Such is the world of preschool, where learning happens via blithe immersion in the moment.
Come July 1, that world will change, when the state cuts its preschool and toddler-care program for low-income families by 15 percent, or $140 million, and also toughens eligibility requirements. That will wipe out 28,000 slots statewide from subsidized preschools such as Room 3's Parkway Child Development Center, staffed by credentialed teachers and held up as a state model.
For state preschools, including 42 in Santa Clara County, already operating on the margin because of low state reimbursement rates, the cuts will close doors and turn away families. Even worse, a deeper cut of $124 million, or 10 percent, to reimbursement rates could follow.
Parkway, run by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, will close four of 12 classes and
