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For Immediate
Release
3/8/11
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Sen.
Browne, Rep. Mundy Reaffirm Commitment to PA Youth
Early Childhood Education Caucus will work
to preserve programs
State Senator Pat Browne (R-16) and Representative Phyllis
Mundy (D-120) today (March 2nd) reaffirmed their commitment to
preserving essential programs that give many Pennsylvania
children an extra boost that helps them succeed in school and
later in life.
As co-chairs of the bi-partisan, bi-cameral Early Childhood
Education Caucus, Senator Browne and Representative Mundy said
they will endeavor to protect and preserve state support for
these programs in the face of substantial cuts expected across
the board in the upcoming state budget.
Speaking at a press conference in the State Capitol, the
Legislators said they expect all education programs in
Pennsylvania will be intensely scrutinized by the Administration
and the Legislature as they work to close a $4 billion dollar
structural deficit in Pennsylvania's state budget in developing
a spending plan for the next fiscal year.
"Despite difficult fiscal challenges, the Commonwealth must
continue to commit itself to initiatives which are crucial to
Pennsylvania's future growth and prosperity," Senator Browne
said. "I strongly support quality early childhood education and
I plan to work strenuously and aggressively with my colleagues
to protect programs that promote health and educational
development for our at-risk children. Early childhood education
is a worthy investment which will continue to pay huge dividends
to Pennsylvania communities and our state's overall economic
well being."
Representative Mundy said, "Many studies have shown that
investing in quality early childhood education is the wise thing
to do, as it helps more of our children perform at grade level,
graduate from high school, succeed in college, and earn more as
adults. Over the long-term, investing in early childhood
programs generates anywhere between seven to sixteen dollars for
every dollar invested. We must not take Pennsylvania back to
the days when we were falling behind other states in recognizing
these facts. Job creation means nothing if we don't have
well-educated and qualified workers to fill those jobs."
The legislators were joined at the press conference by Joan
Benso, President and CEO of PA Partnerships for Children, Philip
Peterson, Co-Chair of the Early Learning Investment Commission,
Allentown Police Chief Roger MacLean, and Lauren DeBord, a
parent of a child enrolled in an early childhood education
program.
"Every day in Pennsylvania, thousands of children in the
earliest years of their lives benefit from early learning that
will have a profound impact on their educational opportunities
and outcomes," said Benso.
"But so many others – about 80 percent of three and four year
olds – do not have access to publicly-funded pre-kindergarten
and more than 12,000 children sit on the waiting list for
high-quality child care. We applaud Senator Browne,
Representative Mundy and their colleagues for their leadership
and commitment to make early childhood investment a priority in
the legislative session," she added.
Two weeks ago, Senator Browne and Representative Mundy
appeared at a press conference in the State Capitol where
America's Edge unveiled a new report detailing the economic
connections between early childhood education and business
growth and development in Pennsylvania.
The report showed that investment in quality early care and
education will actually generate $1.06 in sales of local goods
and services from Pennsylvania businesses for every $1 invested.
The report also indicated that companies in communities with
quality early learning available to their employees have less
absenteeism and higher retention and productivity, reducing the
$3 billion annual cost U.S. businesses incur because their
employees have child care arrangement problems.
Contact:
Lesley Darrin
Senator Browne
(717) 787-1349
Gretchen Dlugolecki
Representative Mundy
(717) 772-2361
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