Today's Globe ran a story in the Health/Science section analyzing the cost and benefit of universal preschool. House Speaker Tom Finneran has made this a goal for the state, and hearings on his proposal began today. Some estimate the cost of preschool for all children in Massachusetts to be about $1 billion. Like most other issues in education, ideology doesn't just creep into this debate, it plunges right into the middle of it. Conservative groups point to statistics that say preschool has no benefits and liberal groups cite similar studies that reach the exact opposite conclusion. It should really be self-evident that in an urban community, the quicker children get into school, the better they will do. That has certainly been the case in Lowell. Hopefully, this meritorious proposal to fully fund preschool will be implemented.