Pre-K providers unpaid, Early Head Start match at risk as county funds remain undispersed

Candace Thomas of First8 Memphis presented the quarter-one pre-K report and warned that city and county funding delays have created immediate pressure on operators and could force either a 15% cut in per‑pupil spending or a reduction of roughly 300 seats next year.

"This year we spend $9,483 per child in the program," Thomas said, noting that figure is roughly $2,000 below the national average and that budget negotiations had left the program vulnerable. She said city funds have been used to pay some city operators but that no county funds had been dispersed as of the committee meeting and that the county had not yet provided a timeline for releasing funds.

Commissioners pressed administration staff about why a commission-approved appropriation had not been executed; Chief Administrative Officer Harold Collins said the mayor had executed the contract but the administration conducted due diligence, negotiated with vendor legal teams and encountered payment delays tied to the county's new Oracle financial system (many vendors lacked current EOC numbers). Collins said the administration would expedite payments and investigate any federal Head Start risks — Thomas added the county had contacted HHS seeking a waiver while awaiting resolution.

Commissioners signaled strong concern about operators left unpaid, potential impacts to a federal Head Start match and the risk that unexecuted county budget actions undermine the commission’s appropriations authority and the community's early-learning capacity.