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New state 4K program could push local providers to choose state funding over district partnerships, Waunakee staff warn
Summary
District staff told the budget committee that the state’s new ‘Get Kids Ready’ 4K program (2026-27) offers attractive per-child payments and different teacher-qualification rules that may prompt local 4K centers and licensed day cares to contract with the state rather than the district, complicating student counts and transportation in 2026–27.
District officials told the Waunakee Community School District Budget Committee Oct. 6 that a new one-year state program called Get Kids Ready, rolled into the 2026–27 state budget, could significantly alter local 4K partnerships and the district’s 2026–27 student counts.
Rebecca (staff member) summarized the change: “There’s a brand new state program called Get Kids Ready,” and she said an important provision is that “providers may not participate in Get Kids Ready if they also contract with a public school district to provide 4K in the same year.”
Staff said the state program is funded at about $66 million for 2026–27 and current estimates in preliminary materials place…
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