Time to take action! Governor vetoes Early Childhood Bonding dollars

Governor Pawlenty Used His Line-Item Veto to Eliminate Funding for Early Childhood Facilities

Yesterday, Governor Pawlenty used his line-item veto to eliminate funding for a number of construction projects that were part of the legislature's Bonding Bill. One of the items that he vetoed was $2 million for the Early Childhood Facilities grant program, which local communities can use to build or rehab facilities for early childhood programming.

The grant program has received funding in previous years, helping to expand access to quality early learning across Minnesota. Recently, the Department of Human Services received a number of applications for grants with previously allocated.funds. Priority is given to communities with a high percentage of children living in poverty and to projects that involve partnerships between schools, Head Start and child care.

The Governor's veto is short sighted and is a missed opportunity to build quality safe early learning environments, especially when funding for quality programs is so limited. Past governors have supported funding up to $5 million for these grants. In fact, Governor Pawlenty has supported this funding in the past. There is a great need for early childhood facilities across the state.

In his comments, he stated that these are for local projects and should be funded locally. Like most bonding projects, these require local matching dollars, and build on and support existing collaborations and partnerships. He misses the point that these dollars can be a catalyst for that exact local funding.

What you can do

While the legislature is not able to override a line item veto, there is the possibility that legislators will pass another bonding bill that the Govenor will sign. Ready 4 K will be talking to legislative leaders in the next few days to understand what their next steps will be and will be encouraging them to include funding for Early Childhood Facilities in any new bonding bill. In the meantime, you can do two things to advance the cause.

1. Call the Governor and let him know that you are disappointed in his line-item veto of bonding for early childhood facilities. His phone number is (651) 296-3391 or Toll Free: (800) 657-3717
2. Write a letter-to-the-editor of your local paper talking about how this veto is a missed opportunity to invest in quality early learning for our youngest citizens. You can use some of the points raised in this alert or download our talking points. You can also download Tips for writing a letter-to-the-editor.

Let us know if you write a letter or make a call by sending a quick email to info@ready4k.org or making a note in the comments. We will be watching the developments over the next week and will be in touch about other actions you can take on this, especially if the legislature starts to debate an additional bonding bill.

Thank you for your support of our youngest citizens!