Schools
Full-Day Kindergarten Doesn't Make BOE-Approved Budget
The education budget, which represents a 3.64% increase, will now head to the Canton Board of Finance.
It's not the increase of the education budget that has some residents upset, it's the fact that full-day kindergarten didn't make it in there.
As approved Tuesday by the Canton Board of Education, the 2014-15 school budget comes in at $25,029,087.54 — $880,577.47 more than the current year, or 3.64% higher.
The BOE-approved budget is $266,446 less than what Superintendent Kevin Case had originally proposed, according to a spreadsheet detailing the BOE budget line-by-line.
The budget now makes it way to the Board of Finance, which is scheduled to discuss the BOE budget at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, in the Canton Community Center.
'Not Fair'
Canton currently offers half-day kindergarten at Cherry Brook Primary School, with an option for full-day at a cost of $3,500, offered to residents via a lottery. In 2012, 37 students were enrolled in the full-day option, with a total of 114 in the half-day program. That number was expected to rise.
At BOE meetings this year, some parents have expressed concern about the cost of the full-day option, and many have been advocating for the district to fund full-day kindergarten for all families at no additional cost, or at least reduce the cost of tuition. Three residents voiced concerns about the $3,500 tuition during the public forum portion of the Feb. 11 BOE meeting, according to minutes.
And on Tuesday, before the BOE approved the budget, parent Theresa Taylor cited the district's stance that it provides equal opportunities for all students, and offered this comment, according to a report by the Hartford Courant:
"Can you look at yourselves and say that this is fair and equitable? Because there is nothing fair and equitable about it."
Case reiterated what has been the district's position throughout the tuition-based kindergarten program's life: financial assistance is available to families that need it.
According to The Courant, the district will be forming a committee of parents and educators to study full-day kindergarten.
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