OPINION PAGES

Quality pre-K doesn’t just teach children their letters and numbers, but also how to share, take turns, and learn to self-regulate their behavior during the critical developmental years before kindergarten. Without those things, they are not going to be successful in kindergarten. Once you hit age five, a lot of characteristics are in place, and it’s hard to have children relearn things.

Erie County employers, like ATG, require an educated, motivated workforce to be successful and competitive. There’s widespread recognition that workforce development starts with high quality pre-K that puts our children on the path to reading proficiency and success in school and life.

Among quality pre-k offerings citywide, our district runs at least one pre-k in each of its K-8 buildings, and we want more, because we need to better prepare our students for school. Of our 13 pre-k classrooms, 11 are funded by Pre-K Counts, and two are district-funded.

As lawmakers run a fine-toothed comb through hundreds of line items in those laborious talks that will result in a final spending plan for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, we’d ask them to keep one worthy cause at the front of their minds.

And that’s state support for early childhood education, those critical programs that can have such an impact on a child’s future success or failure as a student.

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.

By supporting substantial investments in high-quality pre-K, including the $75 million funding increase proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf in this year’s state budget, we give more children the chance to become productive citizens, ready to deploy their talents for the good of our community and businesses.

As the new president and CEO of Greater Johnstown/County Cambria Chamber of Commerce, one of the issues I hear about from local businesses is how they struggle to find workers to meet their needs.