The First 5 Kern children’s commission is holding a series of town hall meetings to figure out which services they should keep.

Executive Director Roland Meier says their programs for kids ages 0-5 face a 2% drop in funding next year, but he hopes the meetings will inspire parents to become more involved in the community.

The first town hall was Thursday night at Palla Elementary School in southeast Bakersfield. The next will be sometime in the spring.

Kelli Forsch