FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Teacher Appreciation Week wrapped on Friday with National Provider Appreciation Day for those who work in our child care centers. Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman, a former educator, was not going to miss this opportunity.
“I wanted to make sure that they knew that Governor Beshear and I are their biggest fans, and that we’re here to support them. And to give their teachers a round of applause and to thank them,” the Lt. Governor said after reading to a group of kids at Capital Day Care in Frankfort.
Lt. Gov. Coleman knows the value of early childhood education, saying it can change the trajectory of a child’s life. If she had her druthers, a program like the one offered at Capital Day Care would eventually be all-inclusive.
“We could give every school employee in the state of Kentucky a 5% raise and fully fund universal pre-K for every 4-year-old, and still have the third largest budget surplus in Kentucky’s history,” she said.
Funding for universal pre-K has usually been the main obstacle to achieving such. Now, with the money apparently in place, the Lt. Governor hopes the benefit of time she’d have with a possible second term will allow her to get this dream to the finish line by 2027.
“That’s certainly my goal, to make sure this becomes a reality,” she said. “I recognize we can’t bring universal pre-K into fruition tomorrow, but we can start to put one foot in front of the other and develop the infrastructure to prepare for universal pre-K,” she continued.
The program would help the children. The raise would help those who’ve been doing this work for anything but the money.
“I started a career in private industry and made a conscious decision to take a huge pay cut to be part of the education process,” said Capital Day teacher, Cheryl Sanderfur.
That’s one reason why we have these “appreciation” weeks and days.
