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Budget & Planning

AIR offers practical methods and tools to estimate the local cost of implementing a quality preschool program on a "system-wide" basis, such as within a county, a city, or one or more school districts. Developing a plan for phasing in preschool is an important part of the planning process. AIR offers a number of resources, including the County Preschool Cost Estimator (click here to get more information on the County Preschool Cost Estimator and to download the tool). The Cost Estimator is a user-friendly tool to assess the cost of phasing in access to preschool at the local level, as well as statewide. The Cost Estimator is individualized, allowing users to estimate the cost of a program available to all, or for a more targeted initiative, such as a program focused on children in low API school attendance areas, Title I school neighborhoods, or children from low-income families. In addition, the tool can be used to estimate the cost of implementing preschool at various projected participation rates and timeframes for implementation. The Cost Estimator also incorporates inflation, population growth, and infrastructure, such as facilities and workforce development. AIR would like to thank a number of organizations and individuals for their contributions to the development of the Preschool Cost Estimator (click here for the list of contributors).

In addition, data from the county needs assessments can be used to determine the number of new and upgraded spaces needed countywide and in high-need areas such as those with low Academic Performance Index (API) schools. These data, along with budgets to estimate the cost per child, can be used to estimate total cost and determine the timeframe to phase in access to a quality preschool program for all 4-year-olds.

AIR offers a range of other tools and resources which can be downloaded below.

Tools

  • Preschool Budget and Phase-In: 10 Steps to Calculating the Cost of Preschool
    Microsoft Word Document (DOC) Download - (88 KB) - Date Published: 02/01/2008 - Topic:

      An introduction to preschool budget and phase-in methodology, including a succinct '10-steps' approach to estimate the cost of phasing in a quality preschool program over multiple years. Interested reader may read the complete planning guide:  The California Preschool planning Toolkit, 2006 (http://www.air.org/publications/ca_preschool.aspx.) for more details.

  • CA County Phase-In Example
    Adobe Acrobat PDF Document (PDF) Download - (141.04 KB) - Date Published: 02/01/2008 - Topic:

    Example of how a county can upgrade existing slots and create new slots to reach the total desired population of four-year-olds over an eight-year timeframe.

  • Preschool Per-Child Budget Template (Windows Version)
    Microsoft Excel Document (XLS) Download - (61 KB) - Date Published: 01/23/2008 - Topic: Preschool

    An Excel budget worksheet (including sample budgets) to estimate the per-child cost of upgrading existing preschool programs to meet quality standards.

  • Preschool Per-Child Budget Template (MAC Version)
    Microsoft Excel Document (XLS) Download - (41 KB) - Date Published: 12/04/2007 - Topic:

    An Excel budget worksheet to estimate the per-child cost of upgrading existing preschool program to meet quality standards.

  • Preschool for All : Step by Step Toolkit
    Adobe Acrobat PDF Document (PDF) Download - (221.69 KB) - Date Published: 01/02/2004 - Topic: Preschool

    This toolkit was developed by AIR in January 2004 to assist counties in planning for Preschool for All programs.

Reports

  • Riverside County Plan Final Report
    Adobe Acrobat PDF Document (PDF) Download - (2.42 MB) - Date Published: 03/01/2008 - Topic: Preschool

    This is a report of recommendations on preschool phase-in prepared by AIR for Riverside County, CA.

  • Riverside County Preschool Plan- Executive Summary
    Adobe Acrobat PDF Document (PDF) Download - (101 KB) - Date Published: 03/01/2008 - Topic: Preschool

    This is the Executive Summary of a report of recommendations on preschool phase-in prepared for Riverside County, CA.

  • Estimating the Cost of Preschool for All in California: A Policy Brief
    Microsoft Word Document (DOC) Download - (228.5 KB) - Date Published: 01/15/2008 - Topic: Preschool

    In 2003, the Packard Foundation awarded collaborative grants to the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) and AIR to estimate the cost of a preschool program that would be accessible to all four-year-olds in California. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that project.

  • Estimating the Cost of Providing Preschool to High-Need 4-Year-Olds in California: A Report Issued to Preschool California
    Microsoft Word Document (DOC) Download - (960.5 KB) - Date Published: 11/04/2007 - Topic:

    This policy brief was delivered to Preschool California in November 2007 and shows estimated costs of providing preschool to various targeted populations, including Low API, Title I, and free and reduced-price lunch.