In a speech announcing his candidacy for governor, Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, said he'll "work to fund pre-kindergarten education for Michigan children in danger of falling behind."

Dillon's pre-K comments  came during a portion of his speech in which he listed issues on which Democrats and Republicans can find common ground.

"While we invest in today’s workers and students, we must also invest in the workforce of tomorrow," Dillon said. "That’s why I’ll work to fund pre-kindergarten education for Michigan children in danger of falling behind and continue the educational reforms we passed last year to improve our K-12 system.”

It's nice, of course, when any candidate for top office mentions the importance of early childhood, but it's particularly notable in this case because of the reference to common ground.

As we've said so often in this space, early childhood efforts - including pre-K, quality child care, system building (which is what Great Start is all about) and more - are non-partisan.  These programs and supports help "blue" children and "red" children alike. Their absence is similarly damaging to children across the political spectrum.

Most politicians - Republican and Democrat - seem to understand that on a certain level. They also seem to be coming around to the research, which shows that Michigan saves a billion dollars a year because of pre-K. (See "The Wilder Report.") 

Now we have to convince them that they're important enough to protect in a stressed budget year.

-- Andy Heller

Andrew Heller is Media Director for the Early Childhood Investment Corporation.