Principals of Minneapolis schools learned yesterday that budget shortfalls will rule out publicly funded all-day Kindergarten next year for many of them.
At an open house at Armatage K-5 school last night, principal Joan Franks apologized to prospective parents (those with children who will start Kindergarten next fall) who had been told at last weekend’s school fair that the school hoped to offer a free all-day option for the 2009-2010 school year. A $28 million shorfall for the district, plus no additional money anticipated from the state means Armatage can no longer hold onto the funds set aside for the all-day option, she said.
At Armatage, parents can opt to pay for a full day of Kindergarten — $3,000 for the year. Franks said the school will offer a sliding-scale fee based on ability to pay, and will also be extremely flexible in offering different payment options for parents.
It had been a state goal to provide funding for all schools to offer all-day Kindergarten next year, Franks said, but the current economic climate makes that impossible; only the most impoverished schools will receive the all-day option subsidized by the state.
What a difference a year makes. If memory serves, last year Hale was the first to offer a fee option for all-day Kindergarten, and it was somewhat controversial. Now it looks like the new normal (or what another parent called the cram-down), especially in light of the fact that Franks said next year administrators expect another $36 million in cuts.
So parents, you may want to talk to administrators at the schools you’re interested in to find out what’s happening with Kindergarten options.
And hang onto your hats, if not your wallets.
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Tags: K-12 · Kindergarten · Minneapolis Minnesota2 Comments
That shortfall is disturbing. It sounds like a lot of money for all-day kindergarten that is supposed to be “public.” Our school district (Ashland, OR) is experiencing a huge amount of budget cuts as well. Thanks for your post.
It’s sad to see the public education system struggling to keep programs. Unfortunately, this has been an on going issue for many years in most parts of the country. When will it change?