Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pre-K enrollment full but voucher cuts squeeze funding; district outlines summer school and weather plans
Summary
Jennings County School Corporation reported all 60 pre-K slots are filled across three sites but said voucher amounts will be cut 10–35%, creating a funding shortfall; the board also received summer school outcomes and a new inclement-weather plan.
A district staff member told the Jennings County School Corporation board that all 60 pre-K spots across the district's three sites are currently full, but funding for families using vouchers has been reduced and may soon be reduced further, creating uncertainty for program financing.
The presenter said the number of vouchers awarded to families was lower than hoped and that the district received a recent announcement reducing the amount of each voucher by 10% to 35% depending on voucher type. The presenter described the funding outlook as “not great” and said the district is exploring alternative ways to support the three pre-K sites and will continue to monitor program balances.
The board also received a summer-school update. The presenter said 54 second graders at risk of not passing the iRead assessment attended summer school; 19 of those second graders subsequently passed and therefore will not have to retake the assessment next year. Twenty-four third graders who had not passed iRead attended and the presenter said those third graders went on to pass. At the high school, 26 students enrolled in credit-recovery summer courses and earned a total of 33 credits, down from higher counts in previous years (the presenter said there were 38 students last year and 55 two years ago).
On inclement-weather planning, the presenter said the district will use three asynchronous learning days (no live instruction) followed by virtual-learning days (with live instruction) if needed; the district may still declare a traditional snow day. If a makeup day is required, the district plans to use Feb. 16 (president's day) as a makeup day, with additional makeup days coming after Memorial Day if necessary. The presenter said an electronic version of the plan was shared with board members.
A board member thanked staff for focusing on pre-K and the role early education plays in preparing students for elementary school and reading instruction.
All program updates were informational items; no formal board action was recorded on the pre-K, summer school or inclement-weather items during this meeting.
