Local preschool programs forced to turn away children due to state budget cuts

SPOKANE, Wash. — Local preschool programs are turning kids away because of state budget cuts.

Three hundred spots in ECEAP programs in Spokane County have been cut. Statewide, 2,000 fewer kids will attend preschool this year through the ECEAP program.

The Central Valley School District lost 57 spots, which is 10 percent of their total. Barb Sattler directs the Central Valley Early Learning Center. She says this hurts families who need childcare.

“In addition to not having the slots for students, preschool isn’t an entitlement yet. So that just takes more resources away from 57 students, 57 families,” Sattler said.

The cuts make programs watch classroom sizes carefully. Sattler worries about budget uncertainty.

“Losing 57 slots then makes us have to be very cautious of room size, how many people are there, what does that look like? If we have a re-allocation of slots some time in October, that would affect our overall budget,” she said.

Waitlists for ECEAP programs can grow fast. Losing spots makes things worse for families looking for childcare.

Joel Ryan runs the Washington State Head Start and ECEAP Association. He says families who qualify for ECEAP programs usually have low incomes.

“I think the first thing I think about this is you have a lot of families that are going to be scrambling to try and find another option for their kids. And if they qualify for the ECEAP program they’re probably pretty low-income,” Ryan said.

The Central Valley Early Learning Center avoided layoffs this time. But educators worry about the next legislative session and more cuts.

Sattler says more cuts could hurt kids by moving them between classrooms.

“If we start messing around with, ‘you have a teacher for 45 days and then we have to move you and combine you with other kids in another classroom.’ Those kinds of things innately cause the insecurities of what school is supposed to take away,” she said.

The Washington State Head Start and ECEAP Association wants to raise taxes on wealthy people to fix the problem. They hope lawmakers will tax the rich instead of cutting programs like ECEAP.