Board OKs bridge year for pre-k
Published 1:06 pm Thursday, June 1, 2017
In a room filled to overflowing on Wednesday with parents, teachers, and daycare employees — and after nearly three hours of discussion and public comments — the Calcasieu Parish School Board in a special meeting voted unanimously to approve creating a “bridge” year for 2017-’18 in which the Board would continue to fund some ineligible students for pre-K. The plan to fund will cost approximately one million dollars.
“Louisiana pre-K is not mandated which means it isn’t funded like grades K-12 are,” said Superintendent Karl Bruchhaus. “But we are here today trying to solve this issue for both our eligible and our ineligible students.”
At issue was that the pre-K program receives federal funding that stipulates certain guidelines be followed in order for CPSB to receive funding.
“We fill the classes with grant-eligible students or we lose the grant,” said Bruchhaus.
Board member Glenda Gay said, “We have allowed this to go on. We should have been following the guidelines all along. That’s why we’re running into these problems. And I understand the parents because I had children, too.”
Several board members asked questions back and forth as they worked to clarify issues.
At one point, a frustrated Bruchhaus said, “People don’t understand the complexity of this situation; a flow chart would fill the back wall.”
Chasity Groves, a parent who spoke before the vote was taken, said, “I have a 4-year-old who won’t get to go to pre-K this year because she’s being penalized because of our income.”
Another parent, Julie Greathouse, said her 4-year-old is on a waiting list. “She should be going to pre-K but may not get to because of all of this. I want to see solutions for all students. Why are we going backwards instead of forwards?”
With Wednesday’s decision by CPSB, the following will occur related to pre-K:
All 1,380 grant-funded positions will be filled with eligible students through an ongoing enrollment process.
Up to 390 positions will be offered to students not eligible for grant positions as registered in March. Students will be ranked in income order based on completed and verified applications and will be offered spots closest to their zoned school from lowest income to highest.
2017-’18 will be a bridge year with the program returning to 100 percent grant funding for 2018-’19.
Calcasieu Parish School Board special meeting
