Petersburg Pilot -

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) —Alaska’s Head Start early childhood education program is preparing to close pre-K classrooms and cut jobs after budget vetoes, officials said.

The program lost its $6.8 million in state funding, which is used to unlock federal funds, when Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy last month vetoed line items equaling $444 million in cuts to the state operating budget, The Anchorage Daily News reported Friday.

The federal program is Alaska’s largest provider of early childhood services, offering free pre-K, meals, medical care and other services to low-income children up to...