BC News

Board of Education re-affirms commitment to full-day kindergarten for 2009
Release Date: Dec. 18, 2008

Governor Paterson's budget proposal includes "full-day conversion aid," designed to help districts with the costs associated with starting a full-day kindergarten program. District residents — especially those approaching kindergarten age — should be looking forward to the full-day program next fall.

In June 2006, the Board of Education approved implementing the full-day program in September 2009, a commitment that Board members reaffirmed at their Dec. 17 meeting.

"In a year when state funding for education is decreasing, we are pleased to see that the Governor's proposal includes the full-day kindergarten aid," Board President James Lytle said. "We are, therefore, reaffirming that the district will make good on its promise to the community and begin the full-day program as scheduled, without imposing any undue burden on taxpayers in the coming budget.

The roughly $800,000 included in the state budget to help the district launch the full-day program is to be used exclusively for that purpose. This means that, in any case, the money would not be available to help the district deal with the proposed overall state aid loss that could result in cuts to existing programs and services.

 

 

 

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