Republican legislators urge rejection of $40M federal preschool grant

About 50 Republican legislators implored Montana’s congressional delegation to reject $40 million in federal preschool grant funding in an August letter.

The move left Gov. Steve Bullock literally throwing up his hands while speaking to teachers recently. Bullock pushed a failed state-funded preschool initiative this fall.

He joked that he was pretty sure Republican legislators hated him, not 4-year-olds, when they refused to add a $37 million proposal to fund a 4-year-old preschool program in the state budget while hammering out a deal in April.

After seeing the letter, “I start to worry that some of them might hate 4-year-olds too,” he said.

The letter argues that the “creation of government-provided ‘free’ preschools will most certainly drive existing private preschools from the market.” Montana is one of only six states without any state investment in preschool programs.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY FROM THE BILLINGS GAZETTE

Categories

Article Archives