Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen recently introduced a plan outlining his desires to expand his pre-kindergarten plan by $25-million, adding 245 government funded Pre-K classrooms.

While Bredesen is in favor of the plan, Lt. Gov. and state senate Speaker Ron Ramsey disagrees, saying that the program does not benefit all students, according to the Tennessean.

Bredesen feels that the programs should be universally accessible, whereas Ramsey feels the pre-K program should be offered strictly to lower income families.

"How do you say to a middle class family, ... 'You pay taxes for them, and they are public schools, but you're not allowed to send your children into one of these classrooms?'" Gov. Bredesen said.

I think all the evidence is out there that ... pre-K [is] one of the best investments you can make to the overall educational achievement of our children. Gov. Phil Bredesen

In the first year of the program all 106 schools that requested aid for these programs received it. Bredesen believes pre-kindergarten programs are essential to education.

"I think all the evidence is out there that it's hard to beat, dollar for dollar, pre-K as one of the best investments you can make to the overall educational achievement of our children," Bredesen said.

While Ramsey agrees that pre-kindergarten is helpful for some students, he believes it is unecessary on the whole. According to the Associated Press, he says that current studies on the effects of pre-K simply are not conclusive enough to begin considering expanding it.