| Notes |
An important strategic partner in our quest to fund early childhood education programs has been the local Chamber of Commerce. Matthew Mahood, CEO and president of the Chamber, wrote to the governor last week on behalf of his 1,500 member businesses and 65-member Board of Directors. Mahood asked him to support the Assembly’s $605 million investment in early childhood education. Although the budget deal provides nearly half of the Assembly version, the governor’s original budget was at zero.
“As a Chamber, we feel that an increasingly substantive body of research exists that shows investing in early childhood education is highly effective in combating numerous societal problems,” Mahood wrote. “As examples, this investment has been shown to increase high school graduation rates, college attendance and graduation, decrease crime, and grow a stronger economy with a more robust middle class…” |