JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
“FRUSTRATING ... CLAUSTROPHOBIC ... HELPLESS”
for work. So she sought instead to
bring Pratt’s Head Start program
back to life. Reynolds started a petition and attended town hall meetings. When Rep. Mike Pompeo (RKan.) made a swing through Pratt,
she asked him if Congress would
come to the rescue.
Current spending on Head
Start “will probably be about the
same ... in 2014, or pretty close to
that,” the congressman replied,
according to a transcript provided by his office. “It won’t be any
more than that. The chances of
us appropriating more money for
that is almost zero.”
Pompeo encouraged Reynolds
to try to raise the money herself.
Since local Head Start officials
have significant discretion over
how to handle sequestration cuts,
they might be open to private
funding. Sure enough, they were,
provided that the revenue stream
would be sustained over a long
period of time.
Reynolds has been looking for
a rich benefactor with a soft spot
for disadvantaged children ever
since. While she’s yet to find her
saving patron, it has not been for
lack of determination.
“[Bella] was two when her dad
died. She didn’t understand. She
didn’t want to play with kids.
HUFFINGTON
07.21.13
Though its
critics call it
subsidized
day care,
Head Start
gives children
access to
basic medical
care that
their parents
may not
be able to
otherwise
afford.