NEWS ROOM

The Republican budget that has passed the House and been forwarded to the Senate – a budget crafted without Democratic input or support – would dramatically reduce the early learning funding increases proposed by Wolf. It is my hope that we’ll be able to find a way to put those increases back in a final budget.

Lawmakers often say they are working to make the world a better place for our children. If that’s the case, members of the state Legislature should take a close look at a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf to boost pre-kindergarten funding by $75 million in the next state budget.

Pennsylvania’s law enforcement professionals are tough on criminals because it is their job and their mission, but we know that safer communities start with diverting youth from lives of crime in the first place. We can fight crime by assuring that each Pennsylvania child earns a high school diploma and grows up to lead a productive, law-abiding life. This path demands a continuum of public investment in childhood, building a foundation of success from birth through graduation.

At-risk children face so many challenges throughout their lives. One of the greatest accomplishments they can attain that dramatically reduces their likelihood of engaging in criminal activity is graduation from high school.We can help start them on the right path to a high school diploma and give their parents some of the skills that they may not have learned in their own childhood by providing these children with access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs.