Kentucky postsecondary will receive important funding increases, and P-12 education will also gain ground. Early childhood, however, will not see new investment from the General Fund. That’s the super education impacts of the new spending plan released by the General Assembly’s Free Conference Committee Report yesterday evening. Though changes are still technically possible, that plan has a very strong chance of becoming Kentucky’s state budget for the next two years. This post will highlight how the FCCR addresses Big Bold Ask (BBA) priorities, and our regular budget summary documents will be shared at the bottom.
Postsecondary Giant Steps
The FCCR calls for:
- $38 million in added funding for the College Access Program (CAP) for FY 2023 and a further $5 million increase for FY 2024
- $120 million in added FY 2023 funding for public 4-year and 2-year institutions (including the Performance Fund) and a further $49 million increase for FY 2024
Those increases are all bigger than the Big Bold Ask requests for added investment in those two years, and the CAP increase takes Kentucky beyond the full BBA recommendation for FY 2026.
K-12 Upgrades
The FCCR:
- Funds all-day kindergarten, technically $0 change this year because it continues the FY 2022 $140 million investment to include those students fully in SEEK funding, but still an important victory
- Provides $60 million in added funding for school transportation in each fiscal year
- Commits $13 million in increased funding to teaching quality, including $11 million for the Read to Succeed early learning initiative and $2 million for National Board Certified Teacher stipends
As Big Bold Ask Investments, these changes fully meet the requests for FY 2023 and the kindergarten request for FY 2024, though it would be even better to see rising investment in the second year for teaching quality and transportation.
Early Childhood Concerns
The FCCR:
- Adds no additional investment in preschool
- Reduces general fund investment in the Child Care Assistance Program
The lack of growth on preschool is a major concern. The Big Bold Ask calls for including additional children (up to 200% of poverty incomes) and providing increased funding per student to support the high-quality approaches that make a lasting difference for young learners.
The child care drop in general fund support deserves more context. The FCCR also specifies that $12 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will be spent each year to continue a $2 per child increase in CCAP funding. In addition, the Governor has allocated other federal Rescue Plan dollars to give CCAP support to additional children and to providers hard hit by the pandemic. That means the program has been strengthened, but on temporary dollars. Kentucky needs to give serious thought to a sustainable funding approach to the costs of child care.
In Summary
Kentucky’s FCCR budget for the next two years offers important new efforts to build a big bold future, while signaling a need for fresh work on understanding and addressing the needs of Kentucky’s youngest learners.
For additional details, check out out budget summaries for early childhood, P-12 education, and postsecondary. You can also see the complete Free Conference Committee Report, including all the other parts of the state budget for the executive branch.