By Lillian Mongeau
A billionaire couple from Texas has stepped in with a $10 million interest-free loan to cover the cost of keeping Head Start programs open this month for more than 7,000 children in six states, where programs were closed by the government shutdown.
For now, California children won’t have to rely on the largesse of private benefactors. No state programs receive their federal Head Start grants in October; money stopped flowing to the federal education program for low-income children on Oct. 1 when the government shutdown began. (See below for list of grant renewal dates for California programs.) Four California programs would face closure in November in the unlikely event the shutdown were to continue.