BELLA VISTA -- More Arkansas children need prekindergarten classes, and increasing access to such classes would rank high on her priorities if elected, Republican gubernatorial nominee Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday.
About 400 people came to an 8 a.m. campaign stop by Sanders in front of Cafe USA in Bella Vista. Sanders is running against Democratic nominee Chris Jones, Libertarian nominee Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. and four write-in contenders.
Sanders made her remarks about prekindergarten classes in an interview after Friday's rally. Arkansas students' reading scores were unacceptably low before the covid pandemic school shutdowns, then covid-related disruptions made things much worse, she said.
Now the state has some school districts where only about 10% of students read at grade level, she said. Overall, the number of Arkansas students reading at the same level of the grade they are in is fewer than 40%, according to state Department of Education figures. Sanders said the latest figures show it is in the low 30% range.
"I'm going to be hyper-focused on closing that gap in reading," Sanders said in her interview.
She would not favor mandating that school districts provide prekindergarten but will work with lawmakers and school districts to find ways to increase access, she said.
Options such as reading coaches for older students will also get her support if she is governor, Sanders said. Districts with 10% or less of their students at grade-level reading would get an "intense focus" for additional resources and training, she said.
"We're thrilled to hear it," said Laura Kellams, Northwest Arkansas director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, upon hearing of Sanders remarks.
"Just yesterday, I was in a meeting in which school district leaders said that their number one policy priority would be expanding pre-K services to all families who wanted their children to attend," Kellams said. "They know, and we know, that it would make a huge difference for school success overall, but especially for low-income families throughout the state.
"We have a really successful, but underfunded, program right now," Kellams said. "It's our Arkansas Better Chance, or ABC, pre-K program. It serves low-income 3- and 4-year-olds and those turning 5 in that year before kindergarten starts. But most of those served are 4. Their family incomes must be below 200% of the federal poverty level, though some districts allow families with higher incomes to pay for their children to attend."
Democratic opponent Jones said he spoke out about the need for preschool when he started campaigning. He announced his bid for governor in June 2021. His campaign theme is "PB&J" -- education starting with preschool, access to broadband and better jobs through economic development.
"My opponent says she supports expanding preschool, but with no plan for it, no funding, no policy," Jones said in a statement. "I am glad we agree that this is an important policy platform, but what is striking is that we are only hearing about it after the University of Arkansas identified it as of critical importance to most Arkansas parents."
He referred to the release Monday of a survey by the University of Arkansas' Office for Education Policy. The survey found 81% of parents agreed that free prekindergarten should be available for all 3- and 4-year-old children.
Before covid struck, Arkansas served about 20,000 children in the ABC program, according to Kellams. That fell to 17,325 children in the 2020-2021 school year, she said. Enrollment would have to more than double to reach all 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income households, she said. The current level of state government spending for pre-K is about $113 million, a spending level that has mostly remained flat in recent years, she said.
In her speech to the crowd, Sanders said she would oppose the "all-out assault by the federal government on the values we hold dear in Arkansas," particularly in education policy. The Arkansas "we grew up in will not be the same for our kids if we don't fight for it," she said.
She will weigh every decision she makes as governor on how it will affect her own children, she said. She and her husband, Bryan, are the parents of three children. The oldest is 10.
Attendees of Sanders' rally who were interviewed said their experiences in other states and in Arkansas, especially during the covid lockdowns and required vaccinations in some cases, are chilling reminders of the powers of government. Those powers need curbing, they said.
"There were still covid restrictions and testing until March of this year in Oregon," said rally attendee Stacey Ann Wollman-Pollard of Gentry.
She said she moved to Arkansas to get away from what she saw as an abuse of government power in areas such as covid restrictions.
"We found out how ignorant people are of the Constitution," she said, both the rights the U.S. Constitution gives and the limits it puts on governments.
Becky Eyberg said she moved to Siloam Springs from Minnesota because Arkansas respects "God and the Constitution, and there's less government control."
A crowd gathers Friday morning in front of Cafe USA in Bella Vista before a campaign stop by Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Doug Thompson)