Resident urges board not to close Little Cruisers as members refer preschool policy to committee
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Summary
At the Groveport Madison Schools board meeting, parent Jane Decker urged the board not to close the Little Cruisers preschool, citing high state evaluation scores and concerns about special-education placements. The board referred a disputed revision to preschool policy IGCGR to the policy committee for more stakeholder input.
Jane Decker, a resident of Laguna Drive, urged the Groveport Madison Schools Board of Education not to close the district’s Little Cruisers preschool program, saying the program produces strong outcomes and that closing it would harm students and families.
“Closing Little Cruisers is not a good choice,” Decker said during public comment, adding that Little Cruisers “has a high scores mark at state evaluations,” supports K–2 literacy work and provides social and motor-skill development for children with and without delays. She pressed whether anyone had visited classrooms or consulted staff before moving forward with any closure and raised questions about how Individualized Education Program (IEP) services and placements would be handled if the program were eliminated.
The public comment came as the board considered a first-read revision to preschool policy IGCGR (the transcript shows variants of the policy number). Several board members said the draft had not been routed through the policy committee and lacked clear stakeholder input. One member moved that the proposed revision be referred to the board policy committee for review and that the board be provided supporting information, including rationale for the changes and any stakeholder input, before a second read.
Board members debated process and substance. One member said the draft appeared to go beyond a simple tuition change and touched on administrative actions that should be reviewed by staff and stakeholders. Another member asked that board members collectively provide written input and that staff compile comments for a second read. After discussion, the motion to refer the revision to the policy committee and to require supporting materials before a second read passed by roll call.
Why it matters: Little Cruisers serves young children including those with developmental delays and is cited by the public speaker as a program that supports early literacy and helps families who might not afford other preschool options. Board members signaled they want more community and staff input before moving forward with policy changes that could affect placement, IEP implementation and potential out-of-district costs.
What’s next: The board will route the proposed IGCGR/IGCG revision to the policy committee, collect stakeholder input and return a revised draft for formal second reading at a future meeting. The public speaker’s concerns about how IEPs and out-of-district costs would be handled remain open questions pending the committee’s review.
