Rep. Eddie Armstrong: A Better Start

Editor’s note: The author of this guest commentary is House Minority Leader Rep. Eddie Armstrong, D-North Little Rock. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

I, along with many fellow Democrats, became involved in public service and ultimately came to the Legislature to fight for the “least of these” among us. When you see us engaging on these issues, it is often with a deep passion for doing what we feel is right and fighting for those who do not have a voice – rather than some sort of politically motivated outrage.

One of the issues for which we feel this passion is creating an environment where all of our children and Arkansas’s future children can flourish, whether they are born with a single mom in Little Rock or a working family in the Delta or Northwest Arkansas. For me personally, there is nothing more important.

The Arkansas Better Chance pre-K program is doing a good job of helping make that vision a reality. The ABC program gives kids whose families make less than 200% of the federal poverty line the opportunity for a quality early childhood education and it does so from one corner of the state to the other.

Studies have shown that it is helping these kids, those who have traditionally underperformed in elementary school, perform better in language, math, and literacy.

Studies have also shown that children who have access to quality education during this vital period of development are less likely to require expensive special education, less likely to fall behind and drop out of school, less likely to rely on welfare programs, and are ultimately less likely to wind up in prison.

That makes this program not only the right thing for Arkansas to do, but also a wise business investment for the State. In fact, experts tell us that for every dollar invested in programs like ABC, we can expect a return of between $4.00 and $6.60.

Previous administrations have recognized the merits of these arguments and Arkansas has been a success story, currently ranked 11th nationally for access to quality pre-K education by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).

However, the program has not seen an increase in funding since 2008, even to keep up with inflation. This is forcing administrators to make tough decisions on whether to cut access and quality.

Meanwhile, neighboring states continue to invest with Texas adding almost $50 million in 2014, Mississippi adding $3 million, Alabama $9 million, Georgia $13 million, and South Carolina $27 million. Economic competitiveness is yet another reason to pursue an increase in funding.

House Democrats will continue to advocate for the ABC program and seek the funding required to at least keep up with the price of inflation that has occurred since 2008. We will do it with a passion for serving “the least of these” and we hope Governor Hutchinson will keep an open door for this good government policy and others that expand opportunity, make economic sense, and keep our working families competitive with those in other states.