A majority of voters favors a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow public money to be spent on private preschool, according to a new Hawaii Poll, but the degree of support has weakened since February.
Fifty-four percent of voters interviewed said they would vote for the constitutional amendment, while 40 percent would vote against the amendment and 6 percent were undecided. In a Hawaii Poll taken in February, 62 percent said they favored the amendment.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie asked the state Legislature to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot to help establish an early childhood education program that could eventually offer preschool to all of the state’s 4-year-olds. The governor and other preschool advocates want to use both public and private preschools, but the state Constitution prohibits public money from going to private schools.
The constitutional amendment has become an issue in the Democratic primary for governor. State Sen. David Ige, who is challenging Abercrombie, opposes the amendment, questioning the estimated $125 million annual cost of an early childhood education program as well as whether private schools have the capacity to serve the children in most need of preschool options. Ige has also said that private schools, unlike public schools, might not treat all children equally.
The Hawaii Poll found that the highest support for the constitutional amendment is among voters under 35, Filipinos and those who earn less than $50,000 a year.
"This reinforces what families and educators already know — that early childhood education and preschool are key to brain development and future success in K-12 grade," Jacce Mikulanec of Good Beginnings Alliance, which favors expanded preschool options, said in an email. "We’re hopeful that voters will hear our message and make the investment in our keiki by voting ‘yes’ on the ballot in November."
Wil Okabe, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said the union intends to launch a campaign against the constitutional amendment after the primary. The union supports expanding preschool at public schools with public school teachers.
"We want to educate the people that HSTA is not against early childhood education," he said. "We just feel that, the way it is now, the state is not going to be able to afford that particular program the way it is."
The new poll also found overwhelming support for an interisland ferry system five years after the Hawaii Superferry shut down. Eighty-seven percent of voters said they favor an interisland system, while 11 percent were opposed and 2 percent were undecided.
Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who is running for governor under the new Hawaii Independent Party banner, has called for the return of the Superferry.
After the Superferry went bankrupt and defaulted on government-backed loans, the two high-speed Superferry catamarans — the Alakai and the Huakai — were taken by the U.S. Maritime Administration and eventually acquired by the Navy. The vessels are now named the USNS Puerto Rico and the USNS Guam.
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, has suggested that one of the catamarans could be used to shuttle military troops between Oahu and the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island.
The Hawaii Poll was taken by phone from July 21 to 29 among 612 likely voters statewide. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
