Pre-K town hall hosted in Bowling Green by Team Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A town hall was held on Western Kentucky University’s campus looking to shape the future of the potential for universal preschool in Kentucky.

“It should not be a privilege. It should not be a privilege. It should be something that is accessible for every single child… for every single child… and I’m grateful to you all, I’m grateful to the governor, and I implore our legislators to wake up to the fact that this is necessary,” Dr. Tracey Young, Warren County Public Schools’ Director of Grants and Community Outreach, said during the meeting.

Governor Andy Beshear’s Pre-K for All advisory committee is making a stop on WKU’s campus to hear from the public on what they want to see for the future of kids here in the commonwealth.

“We’re going to be able to offer opportunities for these students that they may not have received elsewhere… and so what saddens me though is that I’m only gonna be able to serve at my school, 500 students, and we know that there are so many other students out there and children out there that need that opportunity… and I am just super excited that you all have taken time out of your day to come and hear from our perspective,” Warren County Early Learning Academy principal Stephanie Paynter said.

The panel heard from different individuals from throughout the region, as far away as Owensboro and even Murray, all in the name of helping provide universal preschool to children that need it.

“They provide services that private programs do not have, and might not allow students to stay in school,” former state representative and current WKU history professor Patti Minter says.

Even some in health care are concerned about what the future holds.

“We will never, ever have a surplus of nurses and I know some of those single parent mothers could go to school if their children were able to go to preschool. We’re fighting to push Kentucky to the forefront of post-secondary education in the country. This would really help us reach those goals,” LaDonna Rogers, TJ Regional Health’s Vice President of Human Resources, says.

The committee hopes to take this feedback to future town halls and help shape what universal pre-K will look like for the commonwealth.

“Other states and surrounding states as well as surrounding metropolitan areas, for example Cincinnati, have taken the next step. They have taken the step to expand their preschool access… and that has made them competitive. We wanted to get a broad swath of what Kentucky looks like. These folks are from all across the commonwealth of Kentucky… from Morehead all the way out to Paducah,” Sam Flynn, executive director of the program, says.

There are two more town halls scheduled in Morehead and at the Kentucky State Fair.