$30M more in Pa. funding boosts pre-K learning, Wolf says in Lehigh Valley visit

Sep. 30, 2021

The first years of development for Pennsylvania children took center-stage Thursday in Allentown, as Gov. Tom Wolf visited to announce millions in new funding for pre-K education and child care.

Wolf toured Community Services for Children’s The Learning Hub at 101 N. Sixth St. in Allentown to highlight, in part, a $30 million increase in state funding for pre-K education. That should equate to 2,900 more children in Pre-K Counts and 300 more children in Head Start programs, representing a bipartisan victory after the Republican-controlled Legislature included the spending in the state budget that runs through June 2022.

“We all suffer when we don’t do an adequate job in providing for early childhood education and child care,” the Democratic governor said, noting he’s doubled the state’s investment in early childhood education during his seven years in office.

The $30 million represents an increase to the previous $145 million secured by Wolf for early childhood learning programs, according to the governor’s office.

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