NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is asking the federal government for $70 million to help the communities of Nashville and Shelby County expand pre-kindergarten education.
Officials said the money would not go toward expanding the state's program.
Metro Nashville wants to use the funding to increase the number of pre-K students to 1,600 by 2018 while the Shelby County Consortium wants to add 3,580.
The Tennessee Department of Education asked for the money since only state departments could make the request. It will act as a pass-through agency.
State Department of Education spokeswoman Kelli Gauthier told The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/1tzlgOF) that the request doesn't mean Gov. Bill Haslam's administration has changed its mind about pre-K funding. Haslam has said he is awaiting the results of a multi-year Vanderbilt study on the effectiveness of the program before making up his mind about an expansion.