The Henderson Chamber of Commerce responded to criticism Monday explaining in a release why it didn’t sign on to a letter sent to the General Assembly in favor of “Pre-K for All.”
Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday posted a brief release that listed 44 chambers of commerce statewide that had signed on to the letter. The Henderson Chamber of Commerce was not listed.
The local chamber’s release said, “While the goal of universal pre-K is clearly supported by our organization, the vetting process raised several critical policy questions.”
Questions listed on the chamber’s release include:
- How much would a program like this cost, where would the additional funding come from and how would it be sustained?
- How would existing private childcare facilities be affected (several of whom are members)?
- How would curriculum be defined and program success measured?
- Would there be additional cost to the taxpayers?
- Would every child in Henderson be able to attend Pre-K at no cost, or is this a lowering of the income threshold to receive government assistance?
The chamber said they could not get all the answers it sought from the governor’s office.
“Our staff communicated several times with representatives from the governor’s office, and while several questions were answered, many could not be answered at this stage in the initiative, as they had not yet been defined,” said the release.
Clay Gillham, the chamber’s executive director, said that the biggest question was the cost. She said the chamber wanted to know the cost of getting every 4-year-old into pre-K around the state, and the answer chamber officials got was “only a moderate increase” and not a specific number.
The chamber, Gillham said, also had questions about implementation would occur, such as parents being reimbursed, school systems receiving funds, new structures being built or building additions to existing structures, and the possibility of public-private partnerships.
She said officials in the governor’s office said they are “still exploring a couple options.” She said most likely money would go to the Kentucky Department of Education and held in a pool, and as each school system got a plan together, it could apply for funding.
Gillham said there was also a vague answer as to how pre-K for all would affect existing private childcare centers.
in the release, the chamber said that it has consistently supported childcare and that it has told that to Henderson’s state legislators, state Sen. Robby Mills and state Rep. J.T. Payne.
“The Henderson Chamber believes it is critical for the Kentucky General Assembly to address child care availability and affordability during the 2026 session,” said the release. “Supporting working families and strengthening the workforce through increased access to child care and early education has been part of our public policy strategy for multiple years and is communicated regularly to legislators and community stakeholders.” (Read the release in full at the bottom of this article.)
On the governor’s “Pre-K for All” webpage, there are three October letters listed in which local officials from around the state signed on to persuade the General Assembly to implement free pre-kindergarten across the state.
One of the letters was from judge-executives from around the state. Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider did not sign it.
Another letter was from mayors around the state. Both Henderson Mayor Brad Staton and Robards Mayor David Sellers signed it.
A third letter of support was written by Dr. Jim Flynn, the executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. There were no local superintendents listed on this letter.
Among the reasons listed in the letters explaining why pre-K for all is a good idea are that it improves kindergarten readiness, expands the state workforce by allowing parents who had needed to stay home get back into the workforce, delivers a 10:1 return on investment and creates jobs in education among other listed reasons for support.
In a 2024 Hendersonian article about Field & Main Bank Chairman and CEO Scott Davis moving into the role of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce president, it was written that one of that organization’s initiatives was to improve early childhood because it will help “children succeed and it is a workforce issue as parents figure out how to balance jobs and childcare.”
The Kentucky Chamber additionally listed “Address Workforce Challenges Through Childcare Solutions” as one of its 2026 legislative priorities, but it doesn’t specifically say that it endorses “Pre-K for All.”
Currently, Kentucky funds pre-K for families of lower income. Locally, children can attend Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center.
State Rep. J.T. Payne said about two months ago he spoke to officials in the governor’s office who are working on the “Pre-K for All” initiative and said that some of the questions that the chamber had, he had as well.
Payne, like Gillham, said the top question is cost.
“They did not have a cost estimate at the time,” he said.
Payne, who is also the Career and Technical Education unit principal at Henderson County High School and additionally serves as agriculture chair for the chamber, said he doesn’t get the feeling that the proposal that does come from the governor’s office will be an “all-in, head-first plunge” into universal pre-K for all four-year-olds across the state, but more of a “what’s the next step?” in this.
That could be a push for implementation to occur in districts that are ready, or it could be increasing the number of eligible children by raising the approved income level of families from 160% of poverty level to 200% or 250%, he said.
Payne said he’s not read any specific proposal and wouldn’t pledge support before he was able to read it. The state rep, however, said he believes in the research that says pre-K is beneficial for children. He said the “concept (of pre-K for children)…is a no-brainer.”
This article includes an update from one posted on Monday. It includes comments from Henderson Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Clay Gillham.
