Pat Kempthorne Wants State Funds To Help Head Start

Pat Kempthorne, who is married to U.S. Senator and gubernatorial candidate Dirk Kempthorne, spoke out Friday at a rally for legislation to put state funding into Head Start.

“No one is more anxious to return to Boise than I am,” Pat Kempthorne said as she took the podium in an icy, whipping wind in front of the state Capitol.

She said she has long been a supporter of early childhood education, and particularly likes the federally funded Head Start because it involves parents.

“Head Start is providing a wonderful opportunity for a small percentage of the children in Idaho,” Kempthorne said. “We hope it can provide opportunities for more children.”

Idaho is one of just nine state that puts no state money into the program. As a result, only 21 percent of eligible Idaho pre-schoolers are in the program, and Head Start has long waiting lists across the state.

SB 1427 would allocate $1.5 million in state funds to expand the program to 225 more children, but lawmakers have been saying they don’t have the money to fund it.

Sen. Jack Riggs, R-Coeur d’Alene, also spoke at the rally. He said he doesn’t support many programs, but he supports Head Start because it’s important and it works.

The program targets needy children and their parents.

“The prospects for this year are growing a little dim,” Riggs said. “I would just encourage you all to not give up.”

“I’ll be there to do what I can,” Riggs said. “Don’t give up, because there’s growing support.”

Pat Kempthorne said afterward that she wasn’t speaking for her husband.

“I would never make that assumption,” she said. “I can’t even make the assumption that he’s going to be home for dinner.”

But she said of the senator, “He’s committed to children, definitely.”

Mrs. Kempthorne said when she returns to Idaho, she plans to work actively on issues involving families, children and education. “We only have a million-some people here - there isn’t anything we can’t do.”

Dirk Kempthorne is unopposed in his bid for the Republican nomination for governor.

Although no major Democratic candidate has stepped forward, Jack Wayne Chappell, 46, of Jerome, rode a mule to the Capitol last Friday to announce his candidacy.

Karen White, Democratic Party executive director, said the party doesn’t claim Chappell. “I don’t believe he’s a Democrat,” she said. “We’ve met with him, and he does not represent the ideals of our party.”

She said there will be a legitimate Democrat candidate by the filing deadline in April.

, DataTimes