Community Corner

Universal Pre-K in Maryland: 'Who Will Pay for It?'

While it's expected to cost about $138 million to expand the state's early education program, the cost could be defrayed with funds from casinos.

How 4-year-olds spend their time is now a discussion topic in the gubernatorial race. Pre-kindergarten in Maryland is a hot issue since two Democratic hopefuls proposed different approaches to expanding the early education program. 

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown announced a plan Tuesday to have a universal pre-K program in place by 2018 and Attorney General Doug Gansler expressed support for a pre-K program to benefit low-income families.

While it's expected to cost about $138 million to expand the state's early education program, the cost could be defrayed with funds from casinos. 

Patch asked readers on Facebook pages across the state how they felt about the pre-K proposals. Many reacted positively but some expressed concern about where the funding would come from and others were confused about Head Start, which is a national program. 

"Head Start is a federal program that promotes the school readiness of children ages birth to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development," according to the Office of Head Start website.

Use the scrolling feature to read some of the comments left on Patch Facebook pages.

TELL US: What do you think of universal pre-K in Maryland? Tell us in the comments.

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