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VIDOR ISD reviews proposal to allow employees' 3-year-olds in district pre-K program
Summary
District staff presented a proposal to expand the existing employee-only pre-K benefit from 4-year-olds to include 3-year-olds; the board asked to add the item to a future agenda for a vote.
Dr. Kilgore, a district presenter, outlined a proposal June 16 to expand VIDOR ISD’s existing employee-only pre-K benefit — currently for 4-year-olds — to include 3-year-olds. "It would be a financial benefit to current employees," Dr. Kilgore said, adding the program would save on childcare costs for district employees and serve as a recruiting tool.
Dr. Kilgore described recent enrollment trends and classroom capacity. Using mid-June counts and year-end comparisons, he said Oak (Oak Forest) had 34 pre-K students at the comparable date last year and finished the year at 63; Pine Forest started the comparable date with 19 and ended at 36; Vidor Elementary had 42 on the first day and ended at 38. Based on those figures the presenter projected next-year end-of-year counts of about 52 at Oak, 29 at Pine Forest and 38 at Vidor Elementary, and calculated a combined 35 available spots under the district’s typical staffing (three teachers at Oak, two at Pine Forest, two at Vidor Elementary). Dr. Kilgore also noted each pre-K class currently has a paraprofessional aide and that the district honors a 22-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio for pre-K.
He said state funding changes will fully fund 4-year-old pre-K but not 3-year-olds: "I believe we will get full funding for pre k, but not for 3 year olds," Dr. Kilgore said. Board members asked about logistics including classroom space, transportation, whether employees who leave the district would retain their child’s placement, bus routing and whether staff would be comfortable with 3-year-olds on campus. District staff replied placements would be prioritized to match employee requests when possible but could not be guaranteed, and that the district would not remove a child mid-year if the parent left employment after placement.
Trustee Carrie asked that the item be added to the next regular meeting agenda for a formal vote; Dr. Kilgore confirmed the presentation was informational only and that formal action would be scheduled later. No vote was taken at the June 16 meeting.
