Full-day kindergarten plan defeated

INDIANAPOLIS -- In a contestable vote causing chaos in the House, Democrats did not pass Gov. Joe Kernan's plan for full-day kindergarten because of a controversial voting procedure.\nState Rep. Thomas Kromkowski, D-South Bend, voted via satellite as he was recovering from surgery. The hook-up was used because Republicans wouldn't support the bill, and Democrats did not have the 51 votes needed to pass it. \nHouse Speaker and State Rep. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, declared the bill passed 51-47 until the Democrats admitted the satellite hook-up did not meet the House voting requirements. Procedures state a member must physically be present in the chamber to vote. \nThe legislation failed and it cannot be reintroduced until 10 months from now. Kernan gave his blessing to attempt the tactic, but later admitted the tactic was not consistent with the House's voting policy.\nKernan told the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Wednesday a lack of attention to children at a young age can harm a child. He said if they have trouble reading, it can lead to students falling behind in school. He said a lack of education can also lead to more welfare dependency and crime. He said it is this spiralling effect which makes full-day kindergarten worth the cost.\n"For every dollar you put into full-day kindergarten, you get seven dollars in savings," he said. "You save money on remedial education, on welfare costs and on prison costs. By the time you are 5 years old, 90 percent of your brain is developed. The brain is like a muscle. If you use it, it will be stronger."\nThe bill would offer full-day kindergarten to more than 20,000 children beginning this year. He said school districts do not have to institute the change, and parents do not have to enroll their child for the entire day. He said the program is mostly for struggling school districts who would really like to use these funds to better their education.\nKernan's deputy press secretary, Jonathon Swain, said full-day kindergarten will be available statewide without tax increases.\n"We are using funds that are in the common school fund which were established in 1851, and over the years have been used to fund school construction projects, and (Kernan) has asked that fund be reallocated to be used for early learning opportunities," Swain said.\nJump-starting the program would cost about $90 million over three years, with the money coming from a variety of sources.\nThe program relies on passage of a constitutional amendment so money could be tapped from a fund now used to provide low-interest loans to schools.\nAmending the constitution requires passage by two consecutive legislatures and the people in a statewide vote. The process usually takes a minimum of three years.\nBecause the state is facing a $1 billion deficit and state tax collections in January came in $21.5 million below target, many Republicans said it is hard to justify funding any new programs.\nState Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, said the reason the bill did not get voted through earlier is because key Democrats were in the hospital.\n"In the legislature we always say it isn't over till it's over," Simpson said. "This program has been up before the legislature, and it will be here for a while. Its something that's not going to go away."\nThe second part of his program involves expanding full-day kindergarten statewide into a pilot program for early learning by 2007.