After a rocky rollout of Chicago’s Preschool For All program, the city has announced it is revising the funding for this school year.
As NBC 5 Investigates first disclosed in August, a new funding plan cut federal and state dollars to dozens of community based organizations and the Chicago Archdiocese that have run preschool programs for years.
After parents and child advocates complained directly to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city announced Wednesday afternoon it has found corporate sponsors for a one-year fix, giving those who lost funding 80 percent of the money needed to stay open.
"What the mayor and her team have done is identified some corporate funds, so these will be city funds that will keep these institutions and these families rolling along," said Lisa Morrison Butler, Chicago's Commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services.
"She doesn’t want families and students to be disrupted Dec. 1, so that is the solution that she has very personally helped to bring about," Morrison Butler said.
Child advocates credit NBC 5’s reports for exposing the preschool funding complaints and say those reports force this new decision.
The Chicago Archdiocese applauded the decision, saying that it hopes the new proposal will allow it to continue funding education programs.
"We are looking forward to understanding the exact terms of the City's proposal and are hopeful that the proposal, while increasing the need for funding from the Archdiocese, will allow us to continue the programs through the end of the current school year," Chicago Archdiocese general counsel Bill Kunkel said in a statement.
