After nearly two years of research, a local committee will recommend to the
Evansville School Board on Monday night that it implement an optional 4-year-old
kindergarten program.
Citing a "level playing field" for families who don't qualify for Head Start and can't afford pre-school the committee recemmended beginning 4K in Evansville, most likely at an off-school center.
The School Board is expected to vote on the plan in August or September.
2 comments:
I support 4k for a limited need based group.
However, I think it is difficult to justify a full 4K program when the budget is tight and we are looking at cutting established programs.
I think the first couple years will be extremely difficult due to the "3 year rolling average" as far as the state funding formula.
I think the school district needs to look at state funds as money paid by us as residents of Wisconsin, rather than "free money." State funding is our tax money and increased spending can increase our taxes even if it doesn't effect our property taxes here in Evansville.
Too often the state formula is worked to the school district's benefit as if is "free money." I wish school districts would not see it that way and would petition the state for better formulas that would provide higher quality, so schools would not feel the need to work the numbers to secure more funding.
Even though this program is optional, how many people that are paying for it through through their tax dollars are going to pay for their own daycare? It will amount to free daycare for people who can afford to pay for daycare at a time when schools are struggling to keep established programs.
Once upon a time, kindergarted was the leveler for first grade. What happens to those poor three year olds who won't be ready for 4-k? 3K? And we can't forget the sad faces of the little ones who aren't potty trained by 3 so we should probably start thinking and planning for 2-k, and then there are the hungry ones whose parents either can't or won't provide the right formula, so let's just enroll 'em at birth shall we? After all it takes a village...
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