Bad education: the high cost of "free" preschool.

• Author: Snell, Lisa
• Position: Financing preschool education through taxes - Brief article

WHEN ACTOR-director Rob Reiner turns his focus to public policy, things get expensive. His latest tax referendum, dubbed Preschool for All, would cost California $2.4 billion per year. The program would offer every 4-year-old in the state 180 days of three-hour-a-day "free" preschool, financed by a 1.7 percent tax on individuals who earn more than $400,000 a year and couples who earn more than $800,000.

The punchline: Two-thirds of California's 4-year-olds already attend preschool. Reiner's referendum, which voters will consider in June, aims to have 70 percent of them attending, an increase of 22,000 children. That...