Southwestern Schools board approves new preschool room and hires amid long waiting list

The Southwestern Schools board voted to open an additional preschool classroom and approve three new preschool hires after staff said the program is facing a waiting list of roughly 39 children.

Kristen, who alerted the board that the district had received notice to add a new room, said the fire marshal and licensing inspector will visit this week and next to determine the room’s capacity. “We just got word last week and the fire marshal will be this Thursday and our licensing lady will be coming next next Wednesday to come and look at the room, inspect it … to give me a total on exactly how many kiddos we can put in the new room to help with our waiting list that has 39 students on there,” Kristen said.

Superintendent (unnamed in the transcript) asked the board to approve hiring Christy Whittam and McKenzie Hogan as preschool aides and Stacy Bowman as a preschool teacher; the board approved the hires by voice vote. Board members noted the preschool’s role in boosting district enrollment and readiness for kindergarten.

Board discussion also included a presentation of the preschool’s finances. The presenter stated figures for the fiscal year (transcripted as expenses and revenue in the packet) and said the preschool is not fully funded by parent fees alone; additional district support was part of the program’s original intent. The speaker said the preschool and the district’s daycare program are costly to operate and employ multiple staff members for extended hours.

Board members praised the program’s education outcomes and encouraged continued outreach to maintain enrollment in the face of local competition. The board concluded by approving the hires and moving forward with licensing inspections; the new class will open subject to final licensing and staffing confirmations.