South Portland to pilot mixed-delivery pre-K with Chickadee and United Way; up to 32 new free seats proposed

Assistant Superintendent Johanna Prince told the South Portland Board of Education the district has two community partners ready to pilot a mixed-delivery pre-K program for 2025–26 and asked the board to consider the proposal at its March 10 meeting.

Under the plan Prince described, the district would develop memoranda of understanding with Chickadee Toddler Care and Preschool and with United Way of Southern Maine to add up to 32 publicly funded pre-K seats. Prince said the state allocates $8,570 per child in the district’s ED 279 calculation; if both partner sites filled all seats for the full year, about $270,000 would “pass through” to those providers via invoicing.

Prince described mixed delivery as a partnership in which a school administrative unit collaborates with licensed private childcare or family childcare providers to expand free public pre-K seats while allowing families to purchase wraparound care if they need additional hours. “The portion of the day that is considered public pre-K is free to the families but families have the ability to add in wraparound care,” Prince said.

Program specifics given in the meeting:

- Current in-district pre-K capacity: up to 64 students across classrooms at Kaler and Dyer; exact seats depend on special-education composition. - Proposed mixed-delivery expansion: up to 32 additional seats (16 per provider as described during the presentation); target yield would move the district closer to serving 43% of eligible 4‑year-olds versus the current coverage level. - Eligibility and application: district lottery for in-district seats is open; lottery eligibility for the district program requires birthdates between Oct. 16, 2020 and Oct. 15, 2021; Prince said the pre-K day runs 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and that lottery applications for the first round must be submitted by the coming Sunday evening. - Funding mechanics: the state’s ED 279 allocation would flow to the district and be invoiced to partner providers at $8,570 per child.

Board members asked operational questions. Jen (board member) asked whether the district would allocate students to partner sites; Prince said most surrounding districts keep separate lotteries (district lottery for district seats and partner organizations’ own lotteries) but that the district could coordinate referrals if partner slots remain unfilled. Several members asked about transportation; Prince said bus transportation is being offered this year for in-district pre-K families but that transportation would be family-provided for partnership sites (Chickadee is located near the airport; the United Way site location will be provided later).

Prince said both partner proposals must meet Maine’s Chapter 124 regulations governing pre-K programs and that the district would assist partners through the regulatory review and the memorandum-of-understanding process. She characterized the opportunity as low-risk to the district’s operating budget: “If we do not move forward with these partnership, we would not receive the dollars from the state.”

Next steps: Prince asked the board to consider the mixed-delivery pilot as an action item on March 10 so the district can negotiate MOUs and pass through funds in time for the 2025–26 year.

Ending: Prince encouraged families to submit lottery applications and said the district will return to the board with MOUs and any missing details, including the United Way site address and finalized selection criteria from partner providers.