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Building Bright Futures tells Senate committee new pre-K data is ready; funding and capacity remain constrained
Summary
Dr. Morgan Crossman, executive director of Building Bright Futures, presented new statewide pre-K access and enrollment data and described the organization's role as Vermont's early childhood advisory council. She said the group is operating on a roughly $798,777 state appropriation within a ~$2 million budget and has reduced staff amid fiscal constraints.
Dr. Morgan Crossman, executive director of Building Bright Futures, briefed the Senate Education Committee on April 1 about new statewide data on pre-kindergarten access and enrollment and on the nonprofit council's role in advising the governor and legislature on early childhood policy.
"For the record, I'm Dr. Morgan Crossman. I'm the executive director of Building Bright Futures," Crossman said, describing the body as Vermont's early childhood advisory council that convenes agencies, community partners and family leaders to guide policy for children prenatal to age eight. Crossman said the council holds a five'year strategic plan and manages a network of regional councils and dozens of partners across the state.
Crossman described new, granular data produced with the Agency of Education and the Child Development Division that tracks three'and four'year'old participation by program type and region, and said interactive maps will allow legislators to see enrollment and access variations across supervisory unions. She said the organization is prepared to share its full five'year strategic plan with the committee.
On finances and capacity, Crossman said Building Bright Futures' base state appropriation is approximately $798,777 and the organization's total operating budget is roughly $2 million when federal and philanthropic grants are included. She said the group has reduced staff by four since the previous year and that some of the data work the legislature asks for is unfunded and relies on time-limited federal grants.
Committee members thanked Crossman for the data preview and indicated they would request the printed strategic plan and follow up on where additional data or staff capacity would be needed for pre-K monitoring and accountability. Crossman did not ask for an increased appropriation at the hearing but urged the committee to consider staffing and funding trade-offs when assigning additional responsibilities to the council.
