Parents Push For Full-Day Kindergarten Program In Chatham

CHATHAM, NJ — Advocates made their way to the Chatham Board of Education meeting on Monday, May 15, to urge the board members to take a formal vote on plans to implement full-day kindergarten.

A group of local parents addressed the board, expressing their commitment to doing everything possible to make full-day kindergarten a reality and urging the board to do their part and commit to the project as well.

Chatham currently provides free half-day kindergarten programs and has offered a lottery program for full-day kindergarten students since 2019. For example, this year, the lottery system had slots available in each of the three elementary schools: Southern Boulevard, Washington Avenue, and Milton Avenue.

The annual fee for full-day lottery kindergarten students is $7,000, according to the school district's website.

Concerned about future delays in the implementation of the full-day program, one parent, Christine Cairns, asked the school board to record a vote demonstrating their commitment to the plan.

"A vote in favor of full-day kindergarten represents a commitment on the part of the board of education to find timely solutions to the two main issues that have prevented the implementation of a full-day program thus far," Cairns said.

Those two issues are space and funding.

When it comes to space, Superintendent Michael LaSusa has addressed the district's plan to accommodate space for future full-day classes.

Last fall, a possible reconfiguration plan was presented that would allow for the future implementation of a full-day kindergarten program.

Beginning during the 2025–26 school year, the potential plan would change grade configurations, adding an extra grade to the middle school.

The plan would be to separate fifth graders from the elementary level and place them within the middle school, making the new configuration: kindergarten to fourth; fifth to eighth; and the final four grades still in high school.

The second issue raised by Cairns to the board was funding, which she addressed by stating that she is advocating for the Borough of Chatham Council to dedicate a percentage of River Road development PILOT money to the school board's budget.

Residents have previously argued that the school board should not ask the council to share municipal funds from the PILOT but rather request increased funds through a referendum.

However, this group of parents believes that a portion of the funds should be used to strengthen the Chatham education system.

"We went to the borough council and pushed for PILOT money to be allocated to the school district. We will continue to do so, but we'd like to know what you're doing on your end to come up with a plan to make full-day kindergarten tuition-free," Cairns said.

In response, Chatham Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber stated that a vote was unnecessary because the board is already committed to the full-day program implementation plan.

"That is happening. That's why we are going through the painful effort of moving the third grade out, disrupting our second-graders, putting four grades into the middle school and having the middle school rework their master schedule. That's why we needed an extra year to do it," Weber said.

Initially, the district anticipated that implementing the full-day program would take around ten years to complete, but according to Weber, they are on track to complete it in seven years.

"The real trouble, though, is the free part. Obviously, that is optimal, but if we have to come up with $500,000, where does it come from? Do we cut all athletics? Okay, that's a choice. You say we have the power; well, the power means we have to cut somewhere," Weber said.

The goal is to have the program be free, but that is not a guarantee at this point, Weber said. "Full-day kindergarten is coming in 2025-2026. The free part is going to have to be worked on."