All Kindergartners Now Placed in Home Districts, Albano Claims

The feared never materialized, according to interim superintendent Ray Albano.

Upon discovering earlier this summer that their children entering kindergarten were preliminarily enrolled in schools nowhere near their neighborhood, parents angrily confronted former superintendent David Verducci.

A waiting list to "return" kindergartners to their "home" schools emerged, with anxious parents fearing they'd be out of luck and schlepping across town for a decade once school started.

"I'm happy to report – and the board is aware of this – that as of last week all parents of children on the waiting list were invited back to their home school, where their students will attend kindergarten," Albano said Monday night.

Some parents opted out which freed up space at the various schools, he said.

"I will tell you that in so doing it doesn't mean that we have an equal number exactly in every class of the district," Albano said. "I will tell you that the class size ranges from about 18-22 throughout the district. A couple of schools have higher enrollments because they're the ones with the waiting lists."

Verducci, who retired in June, previously told Patch that about 99 percent of students typically end up in the school they live nearest to.

He said "re-balancing" limits the amount of kindergarten sections to eight across four schools and saves taxpayers about $250,000 annually.

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