Monday’s meeting will be held in BHS library
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
After a large contingent of district residents showed up at the Burlington Area School District School Board general meeting Jan. 13 – most there in regards to 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) programming – district personnel knew the topic had outgrown the regular meeting room.
So, when 4K is discussed at Monday night’s School Board Curriculum Committee meeting for the second time, the meeting space will have a little bit more room.
The meeting has been moved to the Burlington High School library for Monday after the Jan. 13 meeting packed so many people into the district office that people were spilling out into the hallway.
All that for a topic that wasn’t even officially on the agenda. Word apparently went out to both supporters and detractors of 4K to come to the meeting and use the comments portion to speak their mind.
While only two residents spoke, it became clear the issue had legs, hence the shift to BHS for this Monday’s meeting.
“We anticipate there might be a larger crowd,” said BASD Assistant Superintendent Connie Zinnen. “We want people to be comfortable.”
Zinnen, along with Superintendent Peter Smet, School Nurse Rose Dolatowski and Special Education Director Gail Spitzenberger have been working on the issue with an ad hoc committee since last spring.
That committee had at least 25 members, Zinnen said – members that included a voice at the table for area private pre-school programs like In His Arms and Noah’s Ark, as well as kindergarten teachers within the district and early childhood education personnel.
“Anyone who offered 4K or preschool in the area was invited,” Zinnen said. Kathy Merlo, who works with pre-schooled aged children in the district, was also involved.
Zinnen admitted they didn’t invite community members, but felt there was a good selection of people who knew the topic.
For the full story, please see this week’s print edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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Adding 4K is a no brainer if you want to lower your property taxes. To simplify and explain how, just consider that according to BASD officials the District is currently denied about $800K per year in state aid so other Districts in WI with 4K programs can be funded. As soon as BASD has its own 4K program it will get an additional $800k per year in state aid, which is about twice what the program costs to run ($400K). It is that simple! Contact me at my web site if you have questions.