At last night’s Plainedge BOE meeting, a lot of topics were covered. One interesting development was that the BOE had decided to find a way to accommodate 33 children shutout of the Universal Pre-K (“UPK”) program via its lottery system.
Interestingly, the NYS aid for Plainedge schools had already allotted a sizable increase in funding for UPK. The NYS Executive Budget Proposal1 that was posted on February 1st for 2023-2024, which is subject to change, has the current figure pegged at $945,000. This would be an increase of $405k over the prior year and had been information known to the public for over a month.
In light of such a development, it does not require a herculean effort for Plainedge to provide this service to all children that were hoping to attend UPK this fall. I want to thank the Plainedge BOE for stepping up its efforts to ensure that students left out of UPK can possibly attend in the fall.
If you’ve been following my campaign since its launch, you are aware that this was a concern I had raised in my campaign platform. It appears that I am continuing to make a difference in Plainedge before you even elect me to the BOE.
I would like everyone eligible to vote on May 16th to imagine the fresh ideas and perspectives that I can deliver to the children of this community when I am officially appointed to the Plainedge BOE.
Kids First. Always.
1 – https://www2.nysed.gov/stateaid/dist/EXEC/COMBAD23/280518.HTML
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