Not too long ago, North Carolina was held up as a model for its early childhood system. Today, we seem poised to fall of the pedestal. The second report in a week cites North Carolina as being behind the mainstream in serving children. While leaders in other states fight to stay true to their principles to best serve children, where is NC?
Today, the New York Times (in a front-page article) lumps us with Louisiana as one that backed down from previously authorized expansions to insuring more children. Like the cuts to early childhood learning initiatives, the state blamed it on revenue.
But according to the NYT:
“Despite budgets ravaged by the recession, at least 13 states have invested millions of dollars this year to cover 250,000 more children with subsidized government health insurance.”
This news comes just as a new report by PreK Now lists NC as one of only five states proposing to cut early childhood learning funding in FY10.
