How San Antonio Is Navigating the Tricky Politics of Pre-K
SAN ANTONIO—In daring to rethink its children’s preschool experience, this Texas city has forged a fragile codependence with its natural adversaries—independently run school districts.
In what may seem like a mutual Faustian pact, the city-funded initiative convinced seven of the city’s 15 independent school districts—which operate separately from local government entities since they are funded by the state and their own fundraising efforts—to partner in an ambitious tax-funded plan to provide high-quality pre-k to thousands of its youngest citizens. Seemingly aware , the first thing they did was set some ground rules in writing, like who’s responsible for recruiting students and tracking attendance (Pre-K 4 SA); who certifies them as qualified and reports to the state (the districts); and how state pre-k funds are distributed (of $3,200 per student, districts keep 10
