Cannon Falls board approves pilot 'school readiness' program paired with 'Bomber Care' childcare, to be revisited in January

The Cannon Falls School Board voted to add a district‑run 'school readiness' preschool model and a paired childcare program called Bomber Care, approving a limited launch and directing administration to return with a renewal review in January.

Administration and the community advisory committee presented a single recommended plan after community outreach and a survey. Presenters said the advisory group and survey results showed strong community interest; staff characterized the plan as a restructuring of existing preschool into a readiness model complemented by daytime Bomber Care rather than changes to before‑ and after‑school services.

The board heard operational details: readiness would feature three licensed half‑day preschool classes (morning and afternoon sections) focusing on four‑year‑olds with an emphasis on specials such as art and music; Bomber Care would provide complementary activities during the school day so learning goals could be reinforced outside the formal readiness time. Administrators said current preschool parents and some Canna(n) Kids staff would shift into the new model and that the district could begin using three classrooms currently occupied by Cannon Kids.

On finance, the business manager presented current preschool figures: preschool staffing and benefits are budgeted at about $464,000; current tuition projections yield roughly $395,000 in revenue based on current enrollment, producing an estimated operating shortfall of about $70,000 under the existing model. Presenters said that shortfall is presently subsidized by the general fund and community‑education/Cannon Kids revenue and that the district will monitor enrollment and revenue closely as the program scales.

Board members and community speakers pressed several practical concerns during the discussion: staffing availability for early‑childhood personnel; the risk of displacing private or in‑home providers; how data and benchmarks would be collected and evaluated; and whether the district could expand to full‑day readiness for four‑year‑olds in subsequent years. Administrators said they plan to start small, develop registration and benchmark datasets for monitoring, and work collaboratively with local providers (including a daycare owner who told the board she would collaborate rather than oppose the plan).

After discussion, a board member moved to add school readiness and Bomber Care to district programming with a planned January revisit; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The board directed administration to finalize registration plans (targeting a March registration window) and to bring update data and a renewal review to the board in January.

The board and staff emphasized the pilot approach: begin with existing classroom space and a small staffing footprint, collect agreed performance measures and enrollment data, and return to the board for adjustments rather than committing to full‑scale changes immediately.

The next formal step is for administration to open registrations and to report outcome metrics and recommended modifications at the January board meeting.