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Release: Gov. Nixon announces nearly $1 million for early childhood education project in Niangua through Missouri Start Smart

NIANGUA, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon today announced a nearly $1 million investment throughMissouri Start Smart to expand access to quality early childhood education opportunities inNiangua, located in Webster County, so that more Missouri children start kindergarten ready to succeed in school and beyond.

“The State of Missouri is proud to partner with Niangua Schools to invest in this community and expand access to early childhood education for local families,” Gov. Nixon said. “Early childhood education is a smart investment with a big return, and that’s why my administration has worked to make preschool more affordable and accessible throughout the state.”

The Governor announced that, through the Missouri Start Smart initiative, the Missouri Department of Economic Development will authorize a $977,000 million Community Development Block Grant to the City of Niangua on behalf of the Niangua R-V School District to expand and improve its early childhood education program. The district will use these funds to construct a new, 5,000 square foot Early Childhood Education Center, increasing the total available child care slots offered by the district to 60, up from the current 40 slots available.

Gov. Nixon has made public education in Missouri a top priority of his administration. Even during the height of the recession, the Governor worked across the aisle to balance the budget every year without raising taxes or making cuts to K-12 classrooms.

As the first official business of his second term, Gov. Nixon met with early childhood education experts, educators and advocates about the importance of improving and expanding access to quality early learning opportunities, and to develop a plan to direct additional funding for early childhood education.

In addition to funding through the Missouri Preschool Program, in 2014, the Governor launched Missouri Start Smart to support the development, expansion and improvement of high-quality early childhood and pre-kindergarten programs throughout the state. To date, $23.1 million in Missouri Start Smart grants has been awarded for 24 projects across the state, which will serve up to 2,325 pre-school age children.

Most recently, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget signed by the Governor includes his recommendation to fund early childhood education through Missouri’s school foundation formula, which will provide more than 2,500 kids access to high quality pre-school.