Full-day kindergarten a go in Ontario despite deficit

Ontario will move ahead with a massive and costly
program to offer full-day kindergarten for all four- and
five-year-olds despite an unprecedented $25-billion deficit this
year, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday.

Even though Ontario is expecting to hemorrhage red ink for years
with no end in sight, it's “essential'' that the province invest in
the $1.5-billion-a-year program to build a stronger workforce down
the road, he said.

“Parents everywhere are the same,'' he said. “All we want is
for our children to grow up and be the very best that they might be,
to achieve their greatest potential.''

Moving forward with all-day kindergarten — billed as a North
American first — may require cuts in other spending areas, McGuinty
warned.

“You're waiting for the other shoe to drop? Is that what you're
waiting for?'' he said after touring a Toronto kindergarten class.

“It will. It will in due course. That's not the announcement I'm
making here today though.''

The province “can't have everything,'' but it will keep funding
its priorities of education and health care, he added.

McGuinty's staff couldn't provide a breakdown how much will be
spent on all-day kindergarten over the next five years, but the
government has set aside $500 million over two years to start it up.
The program will be phased in over five years and will cost about
$1.5 billion a year once it's rolled out across the province.

Next September, 35,000 kids will be able to enrol in full-day
kindergarten, which McGuinty promised to expand to all eligible
children by 2015. That puts Ontario behind British Columbia, which
plans to offer full-day kindergarten to all of its five-year-olds by
2011.

via thechronicleherald.ca