BATON ROUGE — An advocate for early childhood education told the Baton Rouge Press Club today that policymakers should ensure that funding continues for programs targeting pre-schoolers.

Libbie Sonnier, the executive director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, said that many parents cannot afford pre-kindergarten programs because they have to balance their household budgets.

“Birth through age 4 actually can be more expensive than a four-year college degree," Sonnier said. "If you look at the equivalent of it, early childhood education costs more in our state than a four-year degree.

"Put it in perspective: you hope that you have about 18 years to try to save, even with TOPS (a state scholarship program), to try to save for college education," she said. "When a family wants to have a little one, they don't have 18 years to wait.”

More information about state childhood education programs is available here.