Investing in Montana’s future – Early education is a bedrock of our future

The budget proposed by Gov. Steve Bullock invests in our future in a number of ways. Montana can have a solid physical infrastructure while at the same time investing in the next generation and providing early education for all Montana’s children. Montana remains one of five states without a statewide pre-K education program. We owe it to our working families to change this.

Some Republican lawmakers do not support pre-K, choosing instead to use the $14 million budgeted for early education as a short-term Band-Aid for Montana’s highways. This is a false choice – we can invest in infrastructure while at the same time providing a bright future for Montana’s next generation. Thanks to Bullock’s leadership, our state budget is in good health, unlike other states that are struggling to keep the lights on. We do not have to choose between educating our kids and repairing crumbling bridges. We can, and should, do both.

Outdated studies falsely indicating the benefits of a quality pre-K education do not last past third grade have been disproven. A 2014 study by Nobel laureate and economist James Heckman http://www.matr.net/article-74830.html shows that students who received pre-K education were more likely to graduate high school, have higher IQs, experience better overall health, and less likely to be incarcerated than their peers who did not experience high-quality early learning programs. The rate of return on the public investment in pre-K education is 13 percent.

NATE MCCONNELL, KIM DUDIK, CASEY SCHREINER, LAURIE BISHOP and JACOB BACHMEIER

Full Opinion: http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/columnists/investing-in-montana-s-future/article_1063fc05-8587-53fc-9ca5-b51628b4353e.html

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Do the effects of early education programs last past the third grade? http://www.matr.net/article-74679.html

Montana Republican Lawmakers Look to Scrap Bullock’s Pre-Kindergarten Proposal http://www.matr.net/news.phtml?newsid=74754

Nobel-prize winning economist James Heckman’s New Research on Early Education – "The Life-Cycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program." http://www.matr.net/article-74830.html

Montana’s Preschool Push http://www.matr.net/article-74785.html

How Investing In Preschool Beats The Stock Market, Hands Down http://www.matr.net/article-74751.html

17 Ways Governors Can Lead on Early Education http://www.matr.net/article-74725.html

More stories on the advantages of early education: http://www.matr.net/news.phtml?cat_id=174&catlabel=Early+Edge+Montana