We've discussed how the inability of Congress and the President to agree on a sensible budget, along with South Dakota's own pigheaded business-über-alles priorities, is leaving South Dakota kids with less access to quality pre-school education. Those budget cuts are hitting the Yankton Head Start program:
South Central Child Development (SCCD), which serves 16 counties and includes the Head Start program in Yankton, will see roughly a 5 percent cut in its fiscal year budget, according to the group’s executive director, Rick Thaler.
...To help deal with the budget cuts, the SCCD has proposed reducing the Yankton Head Start staff by two members — a part-time position at the center and a full-time-equivalent position for the home-based services. Both positions will be cut through attrition.
“We’re looking for the least restrictive ways to implement the changes,” Thaler said.
The cuts would leave the SCCD with one position for home-based services in the Yankton County area, which would lead to 12 fewer children being served, Thaler said.
...In addition to the cuts being made during the school year, the SCCD will also furlough administrative personnel during June and July, with normal work schedules returning in August [Derek Bartos, "Yankton Head Start Program Feels Impact of Cuts," Yankton Press & Dakotan, 2013.06.07].
Thaler and SCCD are doing their best to minimize the impacts of these cuts on kids. In that regard, the administrative furloughs seem particularly sensible, although they will make it harder for SCCD to keep qualified professionals in those positions. And even in those off months, those administrators likely do useful work to prepare for the next school year that now will be piled into August, cutting into other, more immediate tasks.
People, time, money—you just can't do as much with fewer resources. Some people call funding education "throwing money at a problem." I call it providing the resources necessary to do the job right for as many kids as possible.
Some people call funding education "throwing money at a problem". Then some people must agree with the rest of us that ignorance is a problem. Education is the solution.
Those who argue otherwise do so under false pretense. Ignorance does not pay very well and ultimately costs all of us a great deal.
Problem Head Start kids don't vote!