California

I've been reading a lot of articles about a California drive to provide a very expensive preschool for every four year old in the state. It was initiated by Rob Reiner. As I've tracked this story, the money spent has been astronomical, and the result is not a single child spot has been created. It's typically so. Here's an in state reaction.

Questionable Use of Funds for Preschool Agenda

Reporter Editor:

I am the president of Tools of Learning for Children, a fund of the Solano Community Foundation. Our mission is to help children succeed in life and in school by teaching them to read in preschool.

We have about 3,500 Solano County children in the program each year.

What I am writing here probably will forever blow our chances of getting funding from the First Five Commission, but for us that won't change anything. The development of young children never has been the emphasis of First Five. It has instead spent its money almost exclusively on family social problems.

Now it has gone over the edge. It is spending $18 million on advertising to promote Universal Preschools. That $18 million would buy enough Frontline Phonics materials to teach every child in California 4 years old how to read.

It would help them experience personal achievement and set the stage for success in life. In future years the cost would be half of that or less each year.

I feel that First Five does not believe that literacy is important or appropriate for young children. The $18 million being wasted by the First Five Commission has nothing to do with
the development of children.

It has two objectives. First, to encourage voters to soak - to tax - financially successful Californians to pay for a pie-in-the-sky program called Universal Preschool, another Rob Reiner plaything.

Of course, most of us won't have to pay for it, only those despicable rich guys.

Next, it is about financing the political ambitions of Rob Reiner. Anyone who would divert money, which was intended for the benefit of young children, for his own personal political ambitions has no place in public life.

He should be removed from his position as head of First Five for misuse of funds.
First Five needs to be reorganized to shift its emphasis from social programs and target the development of children. The first step is to have Rob Reiner step down.

Murray T. Bass, Suisun City