Gov. Evers highlights Head Start programs for kids in La Crosse and other Wisconsin cities

Wisconsin’s governor gets a close look at the Head Start program in La Crosse.

Governor Tony Evers visited the Margaret Annett Head Start Center in north La Crosse on Wednesday, along with Wisconsin Children and Families Secretary Jeff Pertl, joining kids in play and classroom settings. Later in the day, the two traveled north to Head Start locations in New Richmond and Wisconsin Rapids.

Evers is seeking more federal money to keep Head Start services for young children in Wisconsin from making severe budget cuts.

“My concern is watching things unfold in Washington, D.C., it’s apparent that the Congress is gonna be a do-nothing Congress, and let the president do what he wants to do,” the governor told reporters in La Crosse.

Evers says many parents may be prevented from getting jobs, if they need to stay home and take care of kids. He called on Washington to avoid the cuts in child care funding for the states.

Pertl says he and the governor face normal political challenges, “but most of child care is funded by federal money. And so even though the governor makes the decisions in the budget, and the legislature has to approve it, if there’s big budget cuts at the federal level, that will trickle down to how much the state has to put into these programs.”

Evers says his new state budget will make investments in child care businesses, which could add up to $500 million or more.