Hudsonville staff tell board they plan to expand state-funded Pre-K for All with five new classrooms

Hudsonville Public School District staff told the board they plan to expand the state-funded Pre-K for All program next school year by opening five additional classrooms, offering free tuition and free lunches and providing transportation for half-day students and discounted wraparound care for families.

The report came from Becky Bintama, the district’s early childhood director, who said the district has operated early childhood programming for more than 20 years and now will add five classrooms after open enrollment. “It is obviously free because it's funded through the state. But then it also goes a step further to provide free lunches for our students,” Bintama said.

Why it matters: staff framed the expansion as a way to remove tuition barriers for families and to increase early intervention for children heading into the district’s elementary program. District…