Fargo School Leaders Make Pre-K $ Top Priority - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Fargo school leaders say that getting funding for pre-kindergarten programs from the state is their top priority in the new session.

North Dakota is one of only about ten states that fails to fund pre-K education.

In fact -- school leaders say state law prohibits the district from funding such programs.

There are programs for pre-K available in Fargo schools. The classes teach four-year-olds and their parents how to get the child ready for school -- everything from different learning styles, to raising a reader, to early literacy and math skills.

But the money for it comes from federal funding, the state legislature and United Way of Cass-Clay, not from the district.

District leaders say pre-K programs give the most bang for their educational buck for any community.

"It's the best-spent dollar in education there is," says board member Linda Boyd, who's tasked with developing the plan to approach state legislators with the school district's wish list. "If you are a young child who is not fortunate enough to be really ready to start school, study after study has shown that you never really catch up. Whether it's graduation rates, income in later life, even crime rates, that's a dollar that's best spent."

school leaders say they're aware they'll have to compete with a lot of other groups hoping to get a bite at the state budget surplus pie.

@