From the Associated Press — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proposed expanding government-funded preschool to 22,000 eligible but unenrolled 4-year-olds in Michigan, saying too many cannot access an “incredible opportunity” because of inadequate funding. The expansion is designed to ensure all 65,000 eligible kids can attend either through the federal Head Start program or the state’s Great Start Readiness Program, which covers kids whose families make up to 250% of the federal poverty level. It would be funded with an infusion of $250 million in federal coronavirus relief aid and $155 million in state dollars. Whitmer says spending on preschool pays “massive dividends” in the future.
