CCS board: Not ready for full-day K program yet

CORNWALL — The bottom line on the proposed change to an all-day kindergarten at Cornwall Consolidated School: It won’t happen in the coming school year.The idea was presented at the April school board meeting by kindergarten teacher Candise Stiewing, who described the benefits of being able to slow the pace of the school day and accommodate the individualized needs of students.When board members came to the matter on their May 17 agenda, there was confusion as to how and when the decision would be made. Some members later said they thought they were considering the change for the new school year. While it may have all been hypothetical, that was the way the proposal was laid out in April by Stiewing, where she spoke of easing into the change with the small kindergarten class that is anticipated for next year. At that time, board members had discussed a minimal cost increase should the program be instituted in the next school year. It was expected that the cost would increase the following year with a larger class. Stiewing said May 17 she was not suggesting it happen this fall, adding that many parents took it for a certainty because the proposal was reported by local newspapers and media, and that they were upset that they heard about it there first.In response, Stiewing sent out a survey to the seven families in the current kindergarten class. Six out of seven were in favor of the full day. One parent supported phasing the program partway through the school year.Board members expressed their support for the idea, but said they have to consider the financial impact. They had already finalized their budget for the coming year. (That spending plan was approved three days later, as part of the total town budget, at the May 20 town meeting.) Some line items in the budget remain in flux, however, as the school prepares to hire two new teachers and a new principal. Salaries and benefits for the three positions can vary widely depending on job experience and health-care costs. The board will wait to see how that turns out before making any substantial financial decisions.According to retiring Principal Robert Vaughan, the estimated cost of implementing the full-day kindergarten as proposed is $19,060. That includes teacher and teacher assistant pay increases, and subtracting out the afternoon kindergarten bus.Stiewing said that if the program change came in the 2011-12 school year, the small class size would allow her to handle the extended part of the day without help from a teacher assistant.