Three Village committee recommends capping pre-K at 180, issues RFP for community partner

A district staff member presenting to the Three Village Central School District budget advisory committee said the district’s prekindergarten program should be capped at 180 students next year and that the district should issue a request for proposals to select a community-based organization partner required under New York State UPK rules.

The recommendation, presented by district staff and a small committee that included Ms. Horowitz, assistant principal at Arrowhead, and Ms. Drinkwater, assistant principal at Mount Elementary School, came after an extended review of enrollment, staffing and state aid. The committee proposed 10 half-day classes (one morning and one afternoon section at each elementary school) with class caps of 18 students and a phased introduction of elective supports such as music, with a formal RFP to identify a CBO partner.

The nut graf: The proposals are intended to align the district’s program with state funding rules while limiting the district’s next-year budget exposure. District staff said the state’s funding formula and the UPK requirement to partner with a CBO — which reduces district aid by 10% of the grant to the chosen organization — are the biggest drivers of the budget impact.

District staff described the current program and finances: the half-day pre-K program currently enrolls 195 students across five elementary schools; staffing includes five certified teachers and 10 SCAs (senior classroom aides) after state-aid-driven staff increases. Staff estimated current annual costs for pre-K instruction and associated supports at about $1,064,000, with teacher salaries about $714,000 and SCA salaries about $309,000. The district reported receiving roughly $526,000 in state aid this year, leaving a net district expense of about $161,000 for the program after enrichment offsets.

The district also operates a tuition-based enrichment program that supplements the instructional pre-K. Enrollment in enrichment is 118 students (about 61 percent of pre-K students); tuition is $650 per month this year and staff said they plan a $50 increase next year. Enrichment generated roughly $767,000 in revenue this year, which staff said offsets district pre-K expenses.

On state funding, the presenter explained that New York’s UPK full-day per-student maximum (as presented) is substantially higher than the half-day rate, but the district must partner with a CBO under state guidance; the CBO receives 10 percent of state aid tied to the program. Staff said a full-day option with 180 students would increase staffing and operating costs to roughly $1.8 million and, after the 10 percent CBO share, would still expose the district to an estimated $933,000 in expense for the coming year. By contrast, the committee’s recommended half-day 180-student model showed a smaller projected district expense (about $50,000 in the committee’s modeling) because the enrichment revenue could continue to help offset costs.

Committee recommendations included: cap enrollment at 180 students next year; limit class sections initially to 18 students so the district avoids immediate SCA-driven cost jumps; issue an RFP as soon as possible to identify the CBO partner in compliance with state UPK rules; and phase in elective supports (for example, a weekly music elective) so the district can expand toward a full-day model in later years without a large one-time cost increase.

District staff also described operational constraints and options raised by committee members: the state requires that students be district residents and be age 4 by Dec. 1 to qualify; the district cannot charge tuition for instructional pre-K but may charge for enrichment; and any full-day model will be a fixed 5.5-hour day under state guidance, which may not align with elementary school schedules and would require built-in teacher prep and specials.

Staff emphasized educational benefits of the district program in earlier identification and intervention: the presenter noted that screening within pre-K allowed the district to identify 37 students last year who subsequently were placed in special education services, a process staff said helped target supports before kindergarten. The presenter also recommended using the same screening instrument for pre-K and kindergarten to avoid redundant testing and to better place students academically.

No formal board action or vote was recorded at the meeting; the committee report and staff recommendations were presented for the board’s consideration and next steps. The district indicated it will begin working on the RFP and return to the board with detailed proposals and a recommended timeline for implementation.