Timberlane board asks staff for costs and student‑impact data on switching to full‑day kindergarten

Timberlane Regional School District staff presented an analysis of the district’s current kindergarten model and a high‑level fiscal framework for moving to a full‑day program, and the school board asked administrators to return with detailed cost and educational‑benefit information.

The presentation, led by a district staff member identified in the meeting as Justin, described the district’s current two‑pathway kindergarten model: a tuition‑free half‑day option and an opt‑in tuition full‑day option. Justin told the board the district currently enrolls 216 kindergarten students across four schools (Atkinson, Danville, Plaistow and Sandown Central) and that the fiscal 2026 operating budget funds 12.5 FTE kindergarten teachers and 12 FTE paraeducators, transportation, facilities upkeep, curriculum supports and classroom supplies.

Board members pressed for a clearer accounting of the tradeoffs involved in changing models. Justin provided two years of tuition receipts as part of the fiscal picture: about $709,000 in fiscal 2024 and roughly $541,000 in fiscal 2025 collected from families…