District review finds full‑day preschool runs an annual deficit; board to receive recommendations

District leaders presented an informational review of the Francis Howell School District’s early childhood system on Oct. 16, saying full‑day tuition preschool classrooms are popular but have operated at a deficit and that the district will return with specific recommendations to ensure long‑term sustainability.

Kurt Vanderpool, who oversees early childhood programming, gave the board a three-part breakdown: Parents as Teachers (state-supported home‑visiting services), Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE, federally and state‑mandated services for eligible 3‑to‑5-year-old children) and the district’s tuition-based preschool (full‑day and half‑day options). Vanderpool said ECSE and Parents as Teachers are standard across peer districts; the full‑day tuition preschool is not mandated but widely used by local families.

Why it matters: Early childhood programs affect access to pre‑K for families, special‑education compliance and district budgeting. The board must weigh program benefits and community demand against structural deficits in the tuition model.

Enrollment and program structure Vanderpool said the district served about 477 students in ECSE during the 2024–25 year and that the full‑day tuition program currently enrolls 106 students with an additional 188 in half‑day peer models. He described the peer‑model classrooms in which half‑day tuition students and ECSE students are taught together so ECSE children receive mandated services and peers support social learning.

Funding mechanics and deficits Vanderpool explained that ECSE is funded via a state grant that reimburses prior‑year expenses after the state verifies costs, creating timing lag in reimbursements. He said the tuition program has run an annual deficit; the board was shown historical financial charts and told the district aims to return soon with a mid‑year budget update and specific recommendations to reduce or eliminate the deficit.

Board questions and next steps Board members asked about the financial interaction between ECSE grant funding and tuition students in shared classrooms. District leaders said the state grant covers most ECSE costs, including staff salaries and facilities, and that half‑day tuition revenue has historically been a small offset to the overall tuition‑program deficit. Vanderpool stated the next presentation will include peer-district comparisons and recommended options — for example, limiting full‑day seats, converting classrooms to half‑day, adjusting tuition or restructuring staffing — and that a sustainability recommendation will come to the board at a future meeting.

Ending District staff said they will return with updated mid‑year financials, peer comparisons and a formal recommendation; the board did not vote on program changes at the Oct. 16 meeting.