Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration wants to shift $20 million in hurricane recovery dollars for hurricanes Gustav and Ike to fill in budget gaps in the state’s free preschool program for at-risk students.
The proposal, which requires approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been posted for public comment.
The hurricane recovery dollars were included in the $75 million annual budget for the Cecil J. Picard LA4 Early Childhood Program for the fiscal year that began July 1, a budget approved by lawmakers in June.
Preschool access won’t expand with the money. The dollars will plug part of a budget hole created when federal stimulus funding that had been used for the program disappeared.
Jindal’s chief budget adviser, Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater, said the spending will help people impacted by the storms by offering pre-kindergarten education to 4-year-olds in low- to moderate-income families in hurricane-damaged parishes.
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