NEWPORT, N.C. -
The clock is ticking. Only two days left till across-the-board federal spending cuts, if lawmakers can't come up with a better deal by Friday.
If it happens, it could mean less funding for certain educational programs. For example, Head Start gives a free pre-school education to low-income kids.
The White House says if the cuts kick in, Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for 1500 children in North Carolina.
Parents tell 9 On Your Side they don't want to see any cuts.
"A lot of people can't afford a private school to have them prepped a ready. I work 7 days a week as a nursing assistant, I make good money, but not enough to put her [my three-year-old daughter] into private school to get her ready for kindergarten," said Melissa Guzman, a Head Start parent.
Coastal Community Action is a nonprofit group that oversees Head Start in Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, Jones, and Lenoir Counties.
The director, Paula Dickson, says 80 percent of their funding comes from the federal government. Now they're trying to find new sources of revenue in case those cuts happen, such as fundraisers.
