As part of his platform to support education, Mayor Reed spearheaded the effort increase funding for Montgomery Public Schools for the first time in 30 years by building a broad coalition of advocates that ranged from the business community to retired military leaders and parents of students.

• Montgomery’s public schools received the lowest level of property tax funding mandated by Alabama law while school systems in neighboring cities and counties have well over twice that much to fund many schools. Thanks to Mayor Reed’s leadership, more than 60 percent of voters chose to approve this measure and increase the investment in MPS and the system saw the end of state intervention.

• Mayor Reed continues working to expand Pre-K, whether that means advocacy at state and national levels or building new community centers with classrooms for new Pre-K students, like on Calmar Drive.

• In June of 2020, Mayor Steven L. Reed today joined Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (DECE) Secretary Jeana Ross, DECE Office of School Readiness Director Barbara Cooper and Alabama School Readiness Alliance (ASRA) Executive Director Allison Muhlendorf to promote the expansion of high-quality, voluntary pre-k programs to all Montgomery families. The partnership has yielded a success of exceeding the goal of 50% of pre-k students enrolled in Montgomery.