Governor Edwards is backing 18 million dollars in new funding for early childhood education, as a budget battle looms over what kind of education spending should be prioritized.
Edwards says this will get more working class kids into early childhood education programs that prepare them for academic success later in life.
“We know that children who have access to early childhood education have a leg up. The more kids who start school off ready to learn, the better off we’re all going to be.”
The waitlist for subsidy assistance is about 5,100 kids long.
Edwards says getting this cash through the budget process will go aways towards reducing the significant disparity in outcomes between rich kids and poor kids.
“If we want to make sure that performance gaps are erased, particularly as it related to incomes levels, then early childhood gives us an opportunity to do that.”
Edwards is also pushing for a permanent 1,000 dollar teacher pay raise, a 500 dollar support personnel pay raise, and 39 million in new K-12 education spending.
Superintendent of Education John White says the money is tantamount to a short-term economic stimulus, and a long term investment in the workforce.
“You want to grow your economy, you have to give working families the opportunity to go to work, but if you want to grow the next generation of employees, citizens, and family members, then you have to provide for their growth and care as young children.”
