By DAVE HAWKINS
Independent Staff Writer
– Arizona’s voter-approved initiative to enhance learning opportunities for kids before they attend kindergarten is allocating funds for fiscal year 2012-2013. First Things First (FTF) representatives presented a ceremonial check totaling nearly $3.9-million during an Oct. 25 activity at Little People’s Day Care in Lake Havasu City.

The money will be used in various ways in Mohave and La Paz Counties to prepare children to capitalize upon education opportunities once they reach kindergarten.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to be successful in school and in life,” FTF Chief Executive Officer Rhian Evans Allvin said at the event. “These funds help local communities provide the education and health programs that ensure kids will be prepared when they enter kindergarten.”

Lake Havasu Vice Mayor Don Callahan also spoke at the ceremony. “FTF is making the kids of Lake Havasu better communicators, better students and better citizens,” he said.

FTF funds are often used to improve the skill sets of teachers working in the kindergarten arena. The money is also used to expand preschool opportunities for three and four-year-old children.

A regional council will work with community stakeholders for the next several months to determine how next year’s local funding allocation will be spent. For more information about the FTF program visit www.azftf.gov/lapazmohave.