(The Center Square) – Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson on Wednesday announced a huge philanthropic commitment to the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assessment Program, with the Ballmer Group committed to donating up to $170 million per year for the next decade.
The boost comes months after Washington lawmakers, facing a potential budget shortfall, made substantial cuts this session to programs serving early ECEAP infants through age 3.
Due to the shortfall, the Washington Department of Children, Youth & Families, which oversees early learning, had to cut costs, settling on reductions to the Fair Start for Kids Act. The reductions include a $70 million cut to ECEAP and a pause to its roughly $70 million planned expansion, according to an analysis by the advocacy group Start Early Washington.
During a Wednesday press briefing at the Denise Louis Education Center in Seattle, Andi Smith, National Behavioral Health executive director with the Ballmer Group, announced a decade-long commitment to early education in Washington.
“Today, I’m proud to announce that Ballmer Group is committing to fund up to 10,000 new school-day ECEAP seats per year for the next 10 years. This grant is structured as a resource to the state to grow access for families and, fully realized, will amount to a commitment of about $170 million a year in new ECEAP funding for the next decade,” Smith said.
Smith said the funding commitment is aimed at stabilizing the state’s promise to families and providers.
“To let providers plan ahead to expand capacity and serve more families. The grant will be available for the state to grow the number of seats by expanding the number of kids who will have access to pre-K year over year. And in partnership, the state commits to maintaining current public funding to ensure that every dollar means more access for families,” he continued.
Ferguson said the massive commitment to early learning is hard to calculate.
“It’d be hard to quantify how significant that investment will be for our state. The studies show that this program helps kids get ready when they go to kindergarten and start grade school. And look, I don’t think you have to be an expert or read a report to know that,” the governor said. “I think any parent understands that intuitively, right? If your kid is getting that extra attention, you just know that intuitively. You know what that means.”
Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Early Learning Committee, attended the Wednesday press conference. She spoke with The Center Square just after the event.
“To be able to lead and support this legislation to make this happen means a lot,” said Wilson, speaking to the fact that lawmakers will have to pass legislation to accept the Ballmer funding for ECEAP.
Wilson said she still regrets the cuts they were forced to make during this year’s session, ending funding for many ECEAP programs.
“That’s still a focus for me. I don’t know what the reality is going to be and whether we’re going to be able to fund targeted slots, but perhaps this investment gives us some breathing room … so this is huge for us,” she said.
Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh responded to the Ballmer investment in ECEAP via a text message.
“ECEAP is a good program that helps many Washington families and kids. It’s good to see philanthropic groups supporting ECEAP,” Walsh told The Center Square. “Of course, if the current governor didn’t waste so much taxpayer money on grifty green energy Homeless Industrial Complex schemes, the state Operating Budget could fund good program like ECEAP more completely.”
