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EEC presents FY27 budget watch list as board approves routine business
Summary
Agency financial staff briefed the board on FY27 differences among governor, House and Senate budgets—flagging a $4 million Senate cut to administration, the loss of Career Pathways and Reach Out and Read funding in the Senate draft, and a fair‑share supplemental that could add CCFA and wait‑list funding; the board approved minutes, schedule and a salary adjustment for the commissioner.
The Board of Early Education and Care received a detailed FY27 budget briefing on June 1 and approved routine business items including the May 13 minutes, the FY27 meeting schedule and a salary adjustment for Commissioner Amy Kershaw.
Budget highlights and watch areas: Eric Hansen, the department’s chief financial officer and acting chief operating officer, summarized differences among the governor’s, House and Senate FY27 proposals. Positive items in the Senate final included level funding for the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) program to onboard 130+ new providers, CCFA funding at $1.2 billion and $11.7 million for CFCE. The Senate also added funds in small line items (Head Start grants, voucher administration, mental health and neighborhood programs).
Hansen emphasized three areas the agency is watching: (1) administrative funding—Senate cuts roughly $4 million below the governor’s request; the department said such a reduction could disrupt operations, require staff reductions and slow IT modernization; (2) Career Pathways, a $3 million program that supports roughly 4,000 educators, which the Senate did not fund; and (3) Reach Out and Read, an early literacy program that did not receive Senate funding. Hansen warned that removing the Career Pathways line could weaken the workforce pipeline used to staff expansions.
Fair share supplemental and near‑term opportunities: Hansen described a separate 'fair share' supplemental vehicle that, if enacted, would include targeted funding for CCFA expansion and wait‑list reduction (roughly $32 million for income‑eligible families, with $10.7 million to be spent by the end of FY27 for contracted seats, another $8 million for access grants and $12.5 million for general access). He said the agency will try to move funding to programs quickly if the supplemental is signed, but cautioned many of these are one‑time funds and would need annualization planning.
Routine board actions: The board approved the May 13, 2026 minutes (voice vote; one abstention recorded), adopted the FY27 meeting schedule (motion passed), and approved a salary adjustment for Commissioner Kershaw consistent with the Commonwealth Human Resource Division increase for eligible executive branch managers (motion passed). The minutes, schedule and salary motions were moved, seconded and approved by the board during the meeting.
Implications and next steps: Department staff said its top advocacy priorities to the conference committee include restoring administrative capacity at the governor’s level and preserving or restoring Career Pathways and Reach Out and Read. The department asked the board to be prepared to provide on‑the‑record testimony and field perspective as the legislature finalizes a conference budget.
