Posted: Feb. 28, 2010 |(0) Comments

Muskego — A vote on whether to start a pilot kindergarten program for 4-year-olds is expected to come at the Muskego-Norway School Board meeting March 15.

Last week, the concept overcame two setbacks that had potentially put the plan in jeopardy.

Instead of start-up costs being $250,000 for a limited pilot program, the costs jumped $122,285 to a total of $372,285. The increase came because the district will have to launch a full program serving all 4-year-olds instead of a limited program serving only 160 students, thereby doubling the size of the proposed pilot program.

The state Department of Public Instruction told school officials that the additional state aid they had counted on to help launch the program is no longer available. The money would come only if the pilot program is fully implemented for all children, not phased in, which district officials had planned.

The other hurdle was finding preschools to accommodate all 320 possible K4 students.

But Superintendent Joe Schroeder said last week that enough space has been found in area preschools. The entire K4 program would be offered at private preschools through contractual arrangements.

The original pilot involved four preschools. Two additional preschools have now been lined up, Schroeder said.

That will be enough to accommodate all 320 students, although not that many are expected to actually enroll, Schroeder said.

The problem of finding an additional $122,285 in start-up costs will be addressed by finding efficiencies in the 2010-11 school budget, Schroeder said.

Recommendations as to how those efficiencies can be achieved will be presented March 15 for School Board review. The board will not vote on them at that time, however, as it plans to vote on K4.

The rest of the start-up costs would continue to come from federal flow through dollars as originally planned, Schroeder said. Those would free up local funds to use for K4. No fund balance or reserves would be used, he said.

The amount of start-up funding needed would depend on how many children enroll, he said.

Once the start-up costs are over, school officials expect the program to more than pay for itself by receiving additional state aid beyond its operating costs, Schroeder said.

"We have been able to determine that a fully-community-based 4K model is viable for next year," Schroeder said.

But the School Board is divided on starting the program. The board split 4-3 in approving the original, limited pilot program.

School officials are interested in a K4 program for several reasons.

It is helpful to children, and it would help the district compete with other districts, the vast majority of which offer K4, Schroeder said. Also, the additional state aid (through higher enrollment) a K4 program would receive could be used to help avoid program cuts.

 

- Jane Ford-Stewart