FRANKFORT, Ky. — A new proposal would fund full-day kindergarten in Kentucky, potentially ending a decades-long debate on the subject.

“It just makes sense,” Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, said. “We know that the more time that kids spend in school, the better off they’ll be.”

Raymond is one of several sponsors on the bipartisan bill, which was pre-filed earlier this month for the upcoming regular legislative session in January.

In March, lawmakers approved $140 million worth of funding for full-day kindergarten this school year as an amendment to a different bill, House Bill 563, which gives tax credits to people who donate to funds that help parents pay for educational expenses, including private school tuition.

Campbell County Schools superintendent David Rust said it was like watching sausage get made: not exactly pretty, but still good.

“I believe there were some trade-offs and this was used as a carrot for some lawmakers in order to get some votes,” he said. “I think that our kindergarten parents and students benefitted from it, and I think that’s where I would sit.”

Before this school year, Campbell County Schools still had full-day kindergarten, but most parents had to pay $2,750 for it each year. Lower-income students paid less or not at all, depending on if they qualified for the free or reduced-price lunch program.

Rust said when funding for full-day kindergarten was passed, the district dropped the fee.

“I’m quite certain for many families, it’s kind of like getting a stimulus check,” he said. “I mean, you’re basically able to send your child to free full-day kindergarten and you’re not having a $275 payment monthly during the school year.”

Before this year, the state only provided funding for half-day kindergarten. A spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association said nearly every district still provided the full day, but some made parents pay for it and others just ate the cost.

For example, it cost Jefferson County Public Schools $6.7 million last year, according to a spokesman for the district.

“This measure from Frankfort to fund full-day kindergarten frees up hundreds of millions of dollars in school districts that can go toward important things like special education staff, supplies for students and early childhood education,” Raymond said.

Boone County Schools was the only district without full-day kindergarten and that changed when lawmakers passed funding for it in the last session.

Previous efforts to pass full-day kindergarten were spearheaded by Democrats, including Raymond, but Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, pre-filed a bill for the next regular session.

“(Last session) was a giant step in the right direction, but now is the time to make the long-term commitment,” Tipton said in a press release. “We know that this investment will pay off in dividends for not only the children in our classrooms, but also our efforts to grow our economy, create jobs, and improve our quality of life.”

Raymond said she’s disappointed with how Republicans handled the issue, but at least now full-day kindergarten has a chance.  

“I’m salty,” she said. “I’ve put forward bills from the last few years to fund full-day kindergarten and I’m pleased to see that Republicans have realized the benefit that this brings to families, kids and school districts. And I’m glad to see Republicans and Democrats on this bill and that makes me believe that we’ll be able to get it through.”

The next legislative session begins in January.

Editor's Note: Spectrum News 1 digital journalist Adam K. Raymond is married to Kentucky Representative Josie Raymond, one of the sponsors of the pre-filed bill.