Quality or quantity?

4/28/2013: Betsy Hammond of the Oregonian reports on the tradeoff:

Oregon operates the second-most-expensive public preschools in the nation, at a cost of more than $8,500 per child for a half-day, Head Start-like program, according to a study released Sunday night. Partly because of the high costs, the state has to limit the number of children who take part to about 7,200, or about 7 percent of all 3- and 4-year-olds in the state. When judged by the rate of 4-year-olds who get state-paid preschool, Oregon ranks 30th among the 40 states that offer programs.