Law enforcers push for funding for early learning

County prosecutors and police today called for more spending on early childhood education to help fight crime.

A coalition called "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids" said that the successor to the federal No Child Left Behind Act should have more money for high-quality preschool education. They also called for the state of Minnesota to increase its support for pre-school.

Ramsey County attorney Susan Gaertner said the money would be better spent on education than incarceration.

"Minnesota spends nearly $500 million a year on corrections. By investing more on early education, we can spend less on corrections," Gaertner said. "It's that simple. It's far better to open a classroom door for a child than to slam a cell door shut on a criminal."

She was joined by Dakota County attorney James Backstrom, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek and Minneapolis police captain Ike Delugo.

None, however, said money should be diverted from conventional law enforcement to fund