Gov. Perdue visits Charlotte pre-K classroom

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — A move last month by the governor to shift more than $9.3 million to fund pre-kindergarten education has drawn criticism in the General Assembly.

But it will also allow 2,000 children statewide to enroll in the program.

Parents like Kina Kerr have seen the benefits. Her 4-year-old son, Brandon, is enrolled at the Early Learning Center in southwest Charlotte. He's young, but she said she already sees him developing critical life skills.

"With him in this program, he's actually interacting with other children, which is making him more social and also he's reading much better," Kerr said.

Monday afternoon, Gov. Bev Perdue stopped by to read to Brandon and his class. Perdue said the program is an investment and attacked the General Assembly for cutting funding.

"The thing that troubles me most is that there having these discussions and making these decisions, punishing at-risk children by not offering them proper educational opportunities," Perdue said.

So she shifted government funds for a one-time allocation that will enroll thousands more students across the state through August, but even locally, the shift makes only a small dent.

Starting March 27, there will be 16 students in a second classroom at the Early Learning Center thanks to that shift in funds. Those students are just a handful of the more than 60 across Mecklenburg County who will benefit. But there are still 1,500 children on a waiting list.

Perdue, who cited her commitment to education as a reason for not running for a second term, said she will continue to push even after she leaves office.

"For as long as I live and breathe, I'm going to be somewhere in this state causing trouble, raising the question, speaking up and fighting back until the policy makers understand that the decisions they make in the bowels of the General Assembly in the middle of the night affect real people and real families across the state," Perdue said.

Kerr said she hopes more children like her son will get to have the same opportunities.

WSOC