With lawmakers in the Kentucky General Assembly in the process of crafting the state budget for the next two years, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took his pitch for a universal pre-K initiative to Bowling Green, advocating for the inclusion of his proposal in the budget.

Beshear’s budget proposal outlines a pre-K for all plan that would cost $40.5 million in the 2028 fiscal year, along with $10 million for a data system to support the program.

The current pre-K program in Kentucky is available to families of 4-year-olds who qualify for low- or no-cost options.

Speaking Tuesday morning at the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, Beshear called his universal pre-K proposal “the single most effective way to move Kentucky forward,” saying that more than half of Kentucky’s children show up to kindergarten not ready and that Kentucky clearly needed a pre-K for all program to bolster school readiness among the state’s children.

The governor tied his proposal to the host of economic initiatives his administration has announced that have collectively brought thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment into the state over his time in office.

“We are showing this country what an economy built to last looks like,” Beshear said. “We want to make sure our workforce pipeline remains strong and that our kids are ready to fill the jobs of the future that we’re creating.”

Beshear said that funding for his proposal would come from Kentucky’s sports wagering excise tax and that it would fully fund the program for a decade to come.

The Democratic governor’s pre-K proposal for this budget is less costly than what he advanced in the previous budget outline he put out in 2024, but Beshear said the Kentucky House of Representatives — where Republicans hold a supermajority — has not included pre-K funding in its initial budget bill.

Beshear said that dozens of local and regional chambers of commerce, county judge-executives, the Kentucky Association of School Administrators and the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents have lined up to support funding universal pre-K, saying that this is an issue that should transcend partisan boundaries.

“We are together on this one, not red, not blue, but just advocating for our kids,” Beshear said. “For folks that say pre-K is political, let me just remind you that 4-year-olds can’t vote, but they are supposed to be all of our obligation and our duty to get them off to that right start, so if people think that passing pre-K for all somehow gives me a win, what they’re doing is giving these kids a loss by not moving forward with it.”

Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Clayton was among a number of area business, government and education leaders who also addressed the chamber Tuesday on the issue.

The county school district recently opened the Early Learning Academy in the building that formerly housed Warren Elementary School, establishing an initiative able to support up to 650 preschoolers.

Clayton recounted how the district had to implement cuts to its pre-K programs about 10 years ago, but has been able to claw back several of its offerings in more recent years thanks in part to some community partnerships.

“When we invest in our earliest learners, if we provide pre-K for all students, it’s going to be the single greatest positive impact on economic development and the prosperity of our community,” Clayton said. “We’ll continue here locally to do the best that we can to expand these offerings … we’re seeing firsthand how bringing these earliest learners together and providing the resources is going to provide them with significant opportunities at the end of the day.”