Bedford updates enrollment, staffing and costs as full‑day kindergarten begins

District officials updated the Bedford School Board on Wednesday about the first year of full‑day kindergarten, reporting teachers assigned, updated enrollment and preliminary budget figures. The administration presented enrollment projections and current counts. District staff said the initial projection for full‑day kindergarten across the three elementary schools totaled 244 students (a figure the district had used to match projected first‑grade numbers). As of the Aug. 18 enrollment snapshot the district reported about 223 kindergartners enrolled; Memorial had 77 students, Peter Woodbury was a bit below projection, and Riddle Brook was slightly lower than expected. District staff said enrollment often changes before the state’s formal enrollment count for grant purposes. Each elementary will operate four full‑day kindergarten classrooms this year, the administration said. The district identified the teachers assigned to kindergarten: internal transfers Haley Sprague, Sasha Doucette, Megan Scalia and Kate Dufour (each moved to kindergarten by request) and new hires Kelly Chiappetta and Kilda York. The administrators described this mix of internal reassignment and selective external hiring as a money‑saving and continuity approach. District staff reported salary and benefit costs tied to the kindergarten staffing at roughly $616,975 (salaries plus benefits as presented) and said the district had budgeted $885,100 for full‑day kindergarten implementation under the warrant article. Administrators also said the district expects to apply for a state start‑up grant that reimburses districts for full‑day kindergarten enrollment once the state’s enrollment count is submitted; the exact reporting date to the state was described as a date certain by staff but was not specified in detail during the meeting. Principals told the board kindergarten teachers had worked through the summer on curriculum planning, classroom setup and collaborative planning; administrators said the district reused existing kindergarten furniture and received community donations for some classroom play materials. The board asked the administration to report final enrollment and the state grant figure once the district receives formal confirmation. No formal vote was required Wednesday; the presentation was an informational update and the board asked staff to return with finalized enrollment and grant figures.