By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
With the Burlington Area School District set to look at contracts with area providers Monday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m., the news on current 4-year-old kindergarten enrollment was met with high enthusiasm Monday at the general School Board meeting.
Superintendent Peter Smet asked for the current enrollment numbers, and was told 110 – only to have it corrected to 115.
“It was a busy afternoon,” said one staff member. Another joked, “Do I hear 120?”
The district had estimated a total enrollment of 117 students when it went forward with the 4K plan earlier this year. Smet is confident now the move was the right one.
“I think by the number of people who have signed up, there are a number of people who are interested in the program,” said Smet. “The community’s adopted it.
“They’re signed up for it.”
The meeting this next week will take a look at two providers who are willing to take 4K students, and potentially a third. Smet declined to release the names of the providers at this point.
The approved 4K proposal will use a blended model of in-school assets and community pre-school assets to provide a 4K option to district residents. The estimated cost is a little more than $400,000 each year, with the district paying the entire amount out of pocket the first year and a portion out of pocket the second year.
By the 2017-18 school year, the district has estimated the bump in state aid (through enrollment going up) will be enough to not only cover the cost of 4K, but pull additional dollars into the district.
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