Patrick pulling back on education

Emergency budget cuts slow launch of initiative; Vision of free programs gets incremental approach

The launch of Governor Deval Patrick's ambitious proposal to provide students with a free education, from preschool through community college, will have to be scaled back next year because of the state's ever-worsening budget problems, Education Secretary Paul Reville said.

His acknowledgement, accompanied by recent emergency cuts that touched several educational programs, raises doubt about how much Patrick will be able to accomplish on this key initiative before his term ends in two years.

"We don't have the dollars to do it," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's not that we don't believe in the virtue. We don't have the money."

The administration intends to proceed in January with several components of the plan, such as making community college free for some students and accelerating the expansion of universal preschool, full-day kindergarten, and schools with longer days or years. But Reville said they would not ask the Legislature to spend as much on these programs as previously hoped, although he declined to give specifics.

"We are bullish," Reville said. "We are going to have to roll with the punches, and the economy will impose limits and constraints on how far we can go with our vision but it does not diminish the need to realize that vision. It's imperative for our children and the future of our economy."

More than a year has passed since Patrick announced his Readiness Project - a sweeping 10-year plan to better prepare students for the state's future economy - but his administration has yet to provide a price tag for the ambitious proposal. Some advocacy groups and state agencies have estimated various proposals to be tens of or even hundreds of millions of dollars.

A gubernatorial advisory commission has been charged with finding several sources of new revenue as well as cost-saving measures by mid-November. But its members have been given no sense by the administration of how much the programs would cost, and have not been asked to find out.

While Reville has said he will press for some level of new education funding next year, some legislative and business leaders question the Legislature's appetite to spend money on new programs or to expand existing ones when many state and local leaders are already bracing for possible cuts in local aid. These could force districts to layoff teachers, eliminate programs, or seek voter approval for hefty property tax increases.

When Patrick announced his education overhaul in June 2007, he said that maintaining the status quo was not good enough to compete with China and other nations for business. He spent the following year pulling together dozens of initiatives into a single comprehensive proposal.

That 40-page report, rolled out over several days this past June, garnered praise from many business, legislative and school leaders for its boldness, while others grumbled about the lack of any cost estimates.

Even then, the administration appeared to be bracing for an uphill battle. The document made 50 recommendations but identified only four to pursue in the coming year. Two dozen other recommendations, including free community college for some low-income students and those pursuing careers in early childhood education, were targeted for completion sometime in the next three years. Making community college free for everyone is a longer-term goal.

"It's unrealistic right now," said Senate Republican leader Richard R. Tisei. "I don't know where you come up with the money to do all that. . . . We are going to be in a defensive mode over the next year in terms of how to deal with the budget crisis."

Two programs that the Readiness Project had proposed expanding next year received financial setbacks this month when the governor made a slew of budget cuts to plug a $1 billion shortfall. The governor reduced full-day kindergarten expansion grants by $3 million to about $31 million while the Department of Early Education and Care had its budget slashed by $14 million, which will affect several programs that serve low-income children.

But the governor's supporters say those cuts were minor compared with other agencies and applauded the governor for not cutting local aid to communities, sparing school districts from making some potentially devastating cuts - at least for now.

"I'm really trying not to get down in the dumps about this," said state Representative Patricia A. Haddad, a Somerset Democrat and cochairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Education. "I will continue to advocate for whatever moderate growth is possible. . . . It's going to be a lot about return on investment, and the smartest and best use of resources."

Supporters and even some critics of the proposal say that several aspects of the plan, mainly cost-saving measures, still hold promise in the next legislative session. Reville said he will probably move forward with proposals that would encourage school employees to join a statewide health insurance program and school districts to consolidate or to join together in providing special education programs or buying supplies, from textbooks to toilet paper. Any cost-savings could then be used to expand critical education programs, he said.

Another possible success, supporters and critics say, is creating the so-called "readiness schools," autonomous schools that would be similar to charter schools, allowing administrators more flexibility to try new approaches with fewer restrictions from teacher unions. But unlike charter schools, the readiness schools would be directly overseen by local school districts.

Reville said some districts have already expressed interest in starting those schools, which would involve the conversion of existing schools.

"There's no question those high-cost ticket items are not going to be on the fast track, but I don't think we should be running away from this proposal because we are in a financial crisis," said Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. "We all know we will come out of this at some point."

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.