Pre-K Budget Victory

Some of our AIM pre-K team at the County Council session on May 10th.

On Friday, May 10th, we won over 70 pre-K seats for children of low-income families in Montgomery County! 

The County Council voted to allocate $1 million in this year’s budget to the Children's Opportunity Alliance for the purpose of creating pre-K seats. During Friday’s session and previous full council and joint committee work sessions, Councilmembers recognized our efforts, including Councilmember Katz who said, “It is our AIM that you will be successful!”

The County Council voting unanimously to allocate $1 million to the Children’s Opportunity Alliance for pre-K expansion.

Lee Ingram, who was in the room, described: “We were exhilarated and joyful, knowing that the Council vote would create more seats for 3 and 4-year-olds in pre-K. We felt a sense of accomplishment that our efforts inspired additional pre-K seats and that our voices were heard.”

We’re still a long way away from universal pre-K, but we have raised the importance of having goal posts to work towards, even as we invest in a whole-of-system approach. 

Thank you to the AIM team for all your support, from participating in our March 17th action to sending emails to councilmembers. While we still have a long way to go, this is one important step to ensuring that every 3- and 4-year-old child in Montgomery County has access to pre-K.

Attending the Council budget session on Friday, May 10th.