Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District presents UPK options; recommends capping enrollment and pursuing full‑day later
Summary
District pre‑K coordinator reviewed half‑day and full‑day universal prekindergarten options and costs, recommending capping next year's program at 180 students and pursuing full‑day expansion in a future year after posting an RFP for CBO partners.
The district presented options for Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) on Jan. 22, outlining current operations, costs, and a recommendation to keep a half‑day program for 2025–26 while pursuing full‑day expansion in the future.
Tanya Hurwitz, assistant principal and district pre‑K coordinator, told the board the current enrichment UPK program operates in all five elementary schools as a half‑day option with 195 students enrolled; enrichment tuition is $650 per month. The presentation gave a line‑item staffing and revenue snapshot: current enrichment revenue of about $767,000 and a staffing cost gap of roughly $376,000 (figures given in the presentation). The district described the national Inventors Hall of Fameinspired enrichment curriculum used in classrooms and said 118 of the 195 enrolled students are in the enrichment program.
The district outlined two resourcing scenarios for ten total sections (two per elementary): a full‑day model with 10 teachers and 10 special education aides and estimated staffing and supply costs totaling about $1,807,000, offset by a projected New York State full‑day aid allowance the presentation listed at $874,000; and a half‑day model with five teachers and five aides totaling about $924,000 with projected state aid of about $437,000. The presenter noted state per‑student full‑day aid and half‑day aid figures used in the calculation and that the full‑day per‑student maximum state funding amount had not changed in over 20 years.
Recommendations given to the board were: pursue a full‑day program in the future but not for the coming school year; cap next year's program at 180 students (ten half‑day classes of 18 students per class) and only open additional sections if a class reaches 18 students; phase in specials and elective supports gradually; and post a request for proposals (RFP) to find community‑based organizations that could house UPK sections consistent with state regulations.
Board members thanked the coordinator and noted the program's value; one board member compared district UPK tuition favorably to private provision and affirmed the program's community benefit. The board did not take a separate vote on the presentation; the recommendations will inform program planning.
