WV tests waters for pay all-day kindergarten

Carole Jevons wants her 5-year-old twins -- Lauren and Natalie -- to attend full-day kindergarten in the West Valley School District.

And up until about two weeks ago, she thought they would.

Now, she's not so sure.

Citing state budget cuts, district officials say they can no longer pay for full-day kindergarten. So, they're asking parents to foot the bill.

They're in the process of developing a tuition-based sliding-scale -- using the guidelines for the federally funded National School Lunch Program -- for the coming academic year.

Early estimates put the tuition at $350 to $500 per month.

"People are comparing it to private school," says Jevons, who -- with twins -- would have double the cost. "I am in sticker shock by the price. It feels like the families on Scenic Drive and on the lunch program will be able to afford full day, and the families in the middle will be shut out."

To determine interest, the district is asking parents to submit a form along with a refundable deposit of $350. That deposit drops to $75 if students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The number of forms and deposits received will help the district decide the feasibility and tuition for such a program. The greater the participation, the less the tuition will cost.

Parents can also enroll their children in free, half-day kindergarten, which receives state funding.

Currently, all 16 of the district's kindergarten classes are all-day. The district made the switch to all-day three years ago.

"It feels like we're going backwards," says superintendent Peter Ansingh, who's leaving at the end of June for a superintendent post in Iowa. "My frustration is with the state Legislature. There's so much they could've done to head this off."

Federal Title I dollars and state LAP funds might be able to help support a full-day kindergarten program, Ansingh says. But that funding is restricted to low-performing students.

"You can probably see our dilemma. We don't know who the students are. And do they qualify for free and reduced lunch? There are several factors that are creating difficulty," says Angela Watts, assistant superintendent for business and finance.

Approximately 330 children are expected to enroll in kindergarten at West Valley this year. Watts said the district's cost for all day-kindergarten is about $700,000 a year.

Earlier this month, 18 teachers, including eight kindergarten teachers, were given reduction-in-force notices. If parents are willing to pay for all-day kindergarten, some of those kindergarten teachers might be able to return.

According to board president Sasha Kinloch, the district doesn't have a specific threshold for the proposal, but it would like to limit class size to about 20 students.

"Ideally, there would be one (full-day) kindergarten at each local elementary school," she says. "If there are not enough registered at one building, it's possible that we could consolidate."

Meantime, the district is looking at other cuts, possibly up to $2.8 million.

"That's our best estimate," says Kinloch, noting about 80 percent of the district's budget -- about $36 million -- is made up of staff salaries and benefits.

The interest forms can be found at the district's website, www.wvsd208.org, and will be accepted through June 3.

"We need to have assurance people are interested," says Kinloch, noting about 30 to 40 parents voiced concern over the possibility of losing all-day kindergarten during the board's May 9 meeting.

Jevons was there: "There wasn't one person that stood up in support of half-day."

Kinloch says the board has considered the plight of low-income families, hence, the sliding scale.

"We did not want it to be only for kids who could afford it," she says.

But where does that leave kids in the middle?

"People are upset. People are worried," says Jevons, who owns and operates a property rental business with her husband. They have three children: a 14-year-old who will be a West Valley freshman in the fall and the twins.

"I can't come up with $700 or $1,000 a month. That's a lot of money," she says. "I could do about $150 or $200 (per child). That seems reasonable to me."

* Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com.