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Southington budget would leave summer school unfunded; preschool tuition, peer slots and IEP counts clarified
Summary
Administrators told the board that summer intervention programs for elementary and middle levels are not funded in the proposed budget; preschool arrangements, counts of students with IEPs and community peers were provided and some families may face tuition if waiver funding is denied.
District staff told the board that summer school for elementary and middle students is currently unfunded in the proposed operating budget and that, without alternative funding, those in‑district interventions will not be offered.
Staff said that last summer 93 elementary students and 33 middle‑school students participated in interventions at no charge, supported previously with ARP ESSER funds that are no longer available. High‑school credit recovery, which served 35 students last summer at no charge, would default to a tuition‑based model if operating funds are not provided.
On preschool programming, administrators reported current counts and IEP statistics: 31 three‑year‑olds with IEPs, 35 four‑year‑olds with IEPs (two pending evaluations), and 10 five‑year‑olds with IEPs. In total, staff said 76 students with IEPs attend the integrated preschool, with 11 additional children in referral. The total pre‑K enrollment reported was 161 students with 11 pending referral evaluations.
Staff explained that community peers (tuition‑paying slots) number 58 across age groups (22 three‑year‑old peers, 30 four‑year‑old peers, 6 five‑year‑old peers). They clarified that students with IEPs do not pay preschool tuition; community peers do. The district warned that next year there will be no grant funding for families denied a waiver and those families would be responsible for tuition if they wish to enroll.
Board members asked for clarity on the data and staff said they would provide follow‑up information at the next meeting. No formal action was taken.
