The Alaska Legislature on Monday voted to approve legislation that would reverse most of the $444 million vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy in June from the
state’s operating budget. The measure now goes to the governor for approval or veto. Please thank your legislators for their work to restore funding for early education.
Impact of Early Childhood Education Cuts
The impact to cuts on early childhood education is far reaching:
- More than 1,000 young children will lose access to Early Head Start, Head Start and Public PreK services.
- Roughly 12 of Alaska’s remote and rural communities will be affected.
- More than 250 teachers will lose their jobs in early education programs.
- Best Beginnings will lose all of their State funding which will result in 10,000 fewer children receiving early literacy supports including free books.
- Critical home visiting support will be decreased by eliminating resources for Parents as Teachers which often connects young children to the early
intervention resources they need to get a healthy start. - Families will be unable to go to work or attend school because they don’t have access to these services and programs. This directly impacts our economy
and puts more stress on families.
Early childhood development is more important than ever for Alaska’s future.
Take Action!
- Sign up for thread’s Action Center today!
- Follow Save Our State and stay up to date on what’s happening near you
There is still time for you to make a difference for Alaska’s young children and families. Thank you for your advocacy!
Learn More/ Resources
- NEW! Hundreds of Alaska children expected to lose access to pre-K under governor’s budget veto – Read ADN story
- Vetoes to vital child services will be devastating to Alaskans – Read ADN Op-Ed
- Here’s a partial list of programs affected by what happened in the Alaska House of Representatives – Read ADN article
- Experts in charitable giving say donations from Alaskans can’t make up funding losses caused by vetoes – Read ADN article
- Vetoes strip all state funds from Head Start – Read KNOM article
- Why did the veto override fail? – Read ADN Op-Ed
- Time to ACT – A call to action to override the Governor’s vetoes – Watch video
- Early Care & Education: A smart investment with a big return today & tomorrow –Watch video