Goodnight and McKillip Differ On Childcare Center Funding

Kokomo city councilman and mayoral candidate Greg Goodnight says it’s imperative that city keeps its Early Learning Center open. Mayor Matt McKillip has suggested that the city reexamine whether it should be operating a taxpayer-funded childcare center. In his proposed city budget, McKillip has suggested cuts to the Early Leaning Center budget, along with cuts to almost every other city entity.

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, approximately a hundred city residents attended to show their support for the Early Learning Center. Goodnight says the consensus among council-members is that while spending must be controlled, the child care facility should be more-or-less left alone for the time being.

Goodnight says only a few of the Mayor’s proposed cuts to the Early Learning Center budget were upheld by the council. He says the city’s budget hearings have been proceeding well, though he calls many of McKillip’s proposed budget cuts “unrealistic.” City budget hearings are expected to continue through Friday in Kokomo.