South Windsor Councilors Express Support for Full-Day Kindergarten

Members of the South Windsor Town Council on Tuesday expressed their support for full-day kindergarten at a joint special work session with the Board of Education at Timothy Edwards School.

Indeed, while Superintendent Dr. Kate Carter faced numerous questions about the schools’ proposed $68.12 million budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, which includes a $2.6 million - or 3.97 percent - increase over current spending, she received what appeared to be overwhelming support for expanding the district’s kindergarten program.

Deputy Mayor Gary Bazzano and Town Councilors Dr. Saud Anwar, Cary Prague and Kevin McCann all expressed their support for all-day kindergarten.
“When families move to town, they look at that,” Bazzano said. “It’s valuable to the town and to the children.”

Prague went one step further.

“If you cut anything in the budget, full-day kindergarten should be preserved at all costs,” Prague said.

Prior to the councilors’ comments, Carter explained why full-day kindergarten was necessary, not least of which was the increasing demands of the Common Core standards.

Carter said that teachers and young students alike were finding the half-day program increasingly stressful and unmanageable, with the requirements too rigorous to squeeze into the current schedule.

Things like recess - a necessity for young children who need time for free play and movement - were being eliminated in the half-day program to fulfill curriculum requirements such as reading and writing, Carter said.

By going to a full-day program, ironically, the day would be more manageable and less stressful for the students, who would find more time to play at school and reflect on what they have learned, Carter said.  

The impact of full-day kindergarten on the budget is $303,876, with the total cost of $522,785 offset by $219,000 of personnel and program grants, according to Carter.

Carter faced more intense questioning over the ever-increasing, and rapidly rising, special education costs.

Over half of the proposed increase - $1.35 million - is in the area of special education, which Carter said in a previous meeting was due to a spike in the cost of outplacements - students who have needs that cannot be met in the

South Windsor education system and are placed in other programs outside the district.

Bazzano asked Carter if every effort was being made to keep students within district to keep costs down.

Carter explained how the special education outplacement system worked and that she and her staff worked to provide the services students need within the district. But even then, there are instances when outplacements are necessary, Carter said.

The proposed budget also contains funding for new mathematics textbooks for grades 3 and 4, seven new courses at the high school (including AP Spanish Language and Culture, Engineering and Design and Italian II), and the addition of boys and girls swim teams and boys junior varsity volleyball.

Anwar called for the expansion of the world languages program, as students would not just be competing against their colleagues in South Windsor, the state or even the country, but the world.

Carter also addressed school security, stating that any requests would be made to capital projects. She did say that South Windsor was ahead of the curve in many respects, as the schools have already have automatic door locks and buzzer systems, as well as other security measures.

The next step in the budget process will be on April 8, when the Town Council hosts a special work session on capital projects.