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DPS, Durham Pre-K outline plan to expand pre-K seats; goal is regional coordination and more licensed classrooms
Summary
DPS and Durham Pre-K reported 30 of 32 elementary schools will host pre-K this year (81 classrooms) and outlined a plan that could expand to 103 classrooms, increasing district pre-K capacity from ~1,137 students toward nearly 1,500. Staff warned full implementation requires facility retrofits, staffing and braided funding.
DPS staff and Durham Pre-K officials presented an expansion plan for early education that would increase the district's pre-K capacity. As of the coming school year, 30 of 32 elementary schools will serve pre-K with 81 classrooms in place; expanding to 103 classrooms could raise school-provided capacity toward about 1,500 slots, but the county's estimated need is about 4,500 four-year-olds.
Dr. Pittman and Durham Pre-K's Linda Chapelle said public-school classrooms face licensure tradeoffs: public schools are not required to meet child-care licensing, but licensed classrooms pull in additional funding streams. Chapelle described a Durham Pre-K data-sharing effort using a shared Teaching Strategies Gold database across DPS, Head Start and other partners and emphasized legal protections including FERPA and separate memoranda of agreement with each partner.
Speakers presented a range of per-classroom capital figures depending on existing licensure and facility condition — transcript figures cited a range with high-end retrofits nearing the $900,000'$980,000 mark and lower-cost launches (for already-licensed sites) in the ~$492,000'$758,000 range. Annual recurring personnel and program costs were also itemized; staff said recurring subtotal estimates primarily reflect personnel and academic-service costs and that expansions will require more early-learning staff and multilingual supports.
Durham Pre-K leaders said the community's goal is to serve 75% of the county's four-year-olds; current public-seat coverage in the county stands near 42% as the district and partners phase in expansions and data-sharing to track outcomes and target investment.
