Editorial; Patrick's ed plan: Where's the beef?

Gov. Deval Patrick's plan for the next wave of education reform is brimming over with dreams and ideas - but is typically lean on specifics. And the biggest unanswered question is the one taxpayers will demand (and deserve) to know.

HOW MUCH?!

Yes, the so-called ``cradle-to-career'' approach to public education is a good one that recognizes the importance of an educated work force to the state's economy.

But let's consider for a moment just one piece of Patrick's plan - free community college tuition for all public school students. A nice, if not entirely new, idea.

The Board of Higher Education estimates it would cost between $25 million and $40 million IN THE FIRST YEAR ALONE, costs that would increase as more students enroll.

And while community college may indeed be the gateway to further education or a skilled job (many of which currently go unfilled), we can't help but be reminded of that old saw, that people don't appreciate that which comes easy or free.

If there are income barriers for students who want to attend community college, a sliding tuition scale would do nicely. Otherwise, taxpayers would be forced to subsidize Grades 13 and 14 for every student, regardless of their motivation to learn or ability to pay.

In addition to free community college tuition, the governor has called for universal preschool, a longer school day and school year, full-day kindergarten and other reforms that will come with an enormous price tag - one he has left to a blue-ribbon panel to calculate. In the meantime, we're pleased to hear the governor express support for charter schools and we await specifics on that statement, too.

Patrick is correct that the reforms he has laid out would strengthen our public education system - potentially at a cost of billions. At prices like those, aren't we entitled to some specifics on where the money will come from?