Wyoming school officials and providers tell lawmakers preschool improves kindergarten readiness but funding gaps remain
June 13, 2024 | Education, Joint & Standing, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming
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At a Joint Education Committee interim hearing, superintendents, Head Start and private childcare operators described district-run preschool programs they say produce measurable gains in kindergarten readiness but face continuing funding and capacity limits.
State data provided by a staff member identified as Elliot gave lawmakers a statewide snapshot: combined Part B and Part C early intervention enrollment stood at 3,126, the birth-to-5 population at 37,191, the TANF-eligible under-5 population at about 5,787 with roughly 391 children served by TANF-funded pre-K, 6,122 children eligible for CCSP steps 1–4, 1,769 served by CCSP steps 1–6, and total licensed childcare capacity of 21,559.
Why it matters: Committee members said earlier readiness reduces later K–5 intervention costs. District leaders said locally run preschool programs can be aligned closely with K–12 curriculum and provide wraparound services — transportation, meals and child-care hours — that private providers do not always offer.
Park County School District 16 Superintendent Shane Ogden described his town’s full-day pre-K for 4-year-olds, saying, “we average about 95 percent of kids that live within our district that are of that age come to our pre k program.” Ogden said his district has used a BOCES mill levy and Northwest Early Childhood BOCES funding to pay roughly half the program’s costs in most years; he estimated the program’s annual operating cost (supplies, a certified teacher’s salary and benefits) at about $110,000.
Bighorn School District No. 2 Superintendent Doug Hazen said his district started a half‑day program last year to replace a closing Head Start and that their program has been funded in part with a three‑year “Now Bogan” grant (as the superintendent described it) and ESSER money. Hazen said the program serves 27 children of a 30‑slot cap and that transportation and sustained funding beyond ESSER present risks to sustainability.
Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board chair Carol Jellico described a district-operated Head Start and an adjacent daycare and preschool in a remodeled school building. Jellico said the district’s Head Start is capped at 100 students and that the full facility is licensed and uses IDEA and other federal funds where allowable. She added the district still maintains waiting lists of as many as 50–60 children.
Laramie district Chief Academic Officer Kate Kness emphasized that Laramie’s on-site preschool students showed higher readiness on literacy screeners than peers who had not attended those programs. “All of the students who were entering from an on-site preschool, those students were on target,” Kness said, summarizing district screening results for the 2022–23 cohort.
Private providers and advocates warned lawmakers that moving 4‑year‑olds en masse into district-run preschool programs could have unintended consequences for infant/toddler care and private centers. Childcare operator Kerry Grieser, owner of Basic Beginnings in Laramie, told the committee that infant and toddler care is far more expensive per child to run and said, “if the 4‑year‑olds leave our facility, the increased cost for the 1‑ and 2‑year‑olds will probably cause us to have to have less children than more.” Grieser urged lawmakers to include private providers in any funding model.
Staffing and teacher qualification questions came up repeatedly. Districts said they generally place certified teachers in preschool classrooms on the certified pay schedule and pair them with paraprofessionals. Laramie’s program uses Title I and general funds; superintendent and district witnesses said using Title I for preschool often requires trade-offs in K–5 intervention staffing.
Committee chair Chairman Scott said he would ask the Legislative Service Office to draft a bill that would define “preschool” and set a kindergarten‑readiness standard for programs that wish to call themselves preschools, with a delayed effective date to allow providers time to adapt. He framed the proposal as a labeling and consumer‑protection measure rather than a large new public funding expansion.
What’s next: Lawmakers asked LSO to draft the bill and solicited stakeholder input. Districts and providers said they would continue seeking grant funding — TANF, ESSER, Title I and other federal and local grants — while urging any state policy to include private providers and to preserve infant/toddler capacity.
Ending note: Witnesses asked the committee to preserve flexibility at the local level while improving clarity for families about programs that meaningfully prepare children for kindergarten.
State data provided by a staff member identified as Elliot gave lawmakers a statewide snapshot: combined Part B and Part C early intervention enrollment stood at 3,126, the birth-to-5 population at 37,191, the TANF-eligible under-5 population at about 5,787 with roughly 391 children served by TANF-funded pre-K, 6,122 children eligible for CCSP steps 1–4, 1,769 served by CCSP steps 1–6, and total licensed childcare capacity of 21,559.
Why it matters: Committee members said earlier readiness reduces later K–5 intervention costs. District leaders said locally run preschool programs can be aligned closely with K–12 curriculum and provide wraparound services — transportation, meals and child-care hours — that private providers do not always offer.
Park County School District 16 Superintendent Shane Ogden described his town’s full-day pre-K for 4-year-olds, saying, “we average about 95 percent of kids that live within our district that are of that age come to our pre k program.” Ogden said his district has used a BOCES mill levy and Northwest Early Childhood BOCES funding to pay roughly half the program’s costs in most years; he estimated the program’s annual operating cost (supplies, a certified teacher’s salary and benefits) at about $110,000.
Bighorn School District No. 2 Superintendent Doug Hazen said his district started a half‑day program last year to replace a closing Head Start and that their program has been funded in part with a three‑year “Now Bogan” grant (as the superintendent described it) and ESSER money. Hazen said the program serves 27 children of a 30‑slot cap and that transportation and sustained funding beyond ESSER present risks to sustainability.
Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board chair Carol Jellico described a district-operated Head Start and an adjacent daycare and preschool in a remodeled school building. Jellico said the district’s Head Start is capped at 100 students and that the full facility is licensed and uses IDEA and other federal funds where allowable. She added the district still maintains waiting lists of as many as 50–60 children.
Laramie district Chief Academic Officer Kate Kness emphasized that Laramie’s on-site preschool students showed higher readiness on literacy screeners than peers who had not attended those programs. “All of the students who were entering from an on-site preschool, those students were on target,” Kness said, summarizing district screening results for the 2022–23 cohort.
Private providers and advocates warned lawmakers that moving 4‑year‑olds en masse into district-run preschool programs could have unintended consequences for infant/toddler care and private centers. Childcare operator Kerry Grieser, owner of Basic Beginnings in Laramie, told the committee that infant and toddler care is far more expensive per child to run and said, “if the 4‑year‑olds leave our facility, the increased cost for the 1‑ and 2‑year‑olds will probably cause us to have to have less children than more.” Grieser urged lawmakers to include private providers in any funding model.
Staffing and teacher qualification questions came up repeatedly. Districts said they generally place certified teachers in preschool classrooms on the certified pay schedule and pair them with paraprofessionals. Laramie’s program uses Title I and general funds; superintendent and district witnesses said using Title I for preschool often requires trade-offs in K–5 intervention staffing.
Committee chair Chairman Scott said he would ask the Legislative Service Office to draft a bill that would define “preschool” and set a kindergarten‑readiness standard for programs that wish to call themselves preschools, with a delayed effective date to allow providers time to adapt. He framed the proposal as a labeling and consumer‑protection measure rather than a large new public funding expansion.
What’s next: Lawmakers asked LSO to draft the bill and solicited stakeholder input. Districts and providers said they would continue seeking grant funding — TANF, ESSER, Title I and other federal and local grants — while urging any state policy to include private providers and to preserve infant/toddler capacity.
Ending note: Witnesses asked the committee to preserve flexibility at the local level while improving clarity for families about programs that meaningfully prepare children for kindergarten.
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