NEW LONDON -- A task force will be established in the New London-Spicer School District to study the possibility of all-day, everyday kindergarten.
The board approved appointing the task force after discussing all-day, everyday kindergarten with about six parents Monday at the board meeting.
The district met with about 26 parents last week to discuss the program. The finance committee has decided not to recommend all-day, everyday kindergarten for next school year because of the cost, said Karen Nelson, board chairwoman and finance committee member.
Adding all-day, everyday kindergarten would cost about $172,500, according to district figures.
The board already has approved more than $145,000 in cuts to the 2006-07 budget because of declining enrollment.
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Parents on Monday wanted to know what the board thought of all-day, everyday kindergarten and if it would ever be offered in the district. Kindergarten is offered every other day now.
"If the money was there, would it be a priority or would you fix another roof for $750,000?" said Tim Renner, a Spicer parent who will have a child in kindergarten next school year.
The district is replacing the deteriorating roof at Prairie Woods Elementary School in New London, which costs $750,000.
Nelson said education is the board's priority. As the budget exists now, adding all-day everyday kindergarten would hurt educational opportunities in grades one through 12, she said.
Audrey Renner, Tim's wife, said the district has looked at the kindergarten issue the past 10 years, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere.
"When, when, when is it finally going to be a priority for the board?" he said.
Tim Renner said it's not realistic to depend on the state to decide to fund all-day everyday kindergarten next year.
Board members said the board discussed the issue in-depth three years ago, and the Kinder Pals program came out of that. Some parents didn't want their children going to kindergarten every day, Nelson said.
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Kinder Pals is an enrichment program that's offered the days students don't have kindergarten. The students review curriculum taught during regular classes.
It's a Community Education program that costs parents $1,300 annually. About a quarter of this year's kindergarten students participate in it.
Board member Mike O'Brien said Kinder Pals seemed to be the best solution at the time.
"We're hearing now that maybe Kinder Pals isn't enough," O'Brien said.
Kim Moore, a New London parent, asked if there was a way to offer all-day everyday kindergarten as a fee-based program like Kinder Pals that would be more than an enrichment program. Parents then wouldn't have to send their children every day if they didn't want to, she said.
She said Hutchinson is adding such a program that would cost parents $200 a month.
According to an article in the Hutchinson Leader, the new program in the Hutchinson School District will provide students more time to study each subject area, not introduce new material.
O'Brien said the board is reluctant to give its opinion on all-day everyday because the board's makeup could change. The board is short two school board members now and four other members are up for election this fall.
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Board member Robert Moller he would like to appoint a parent task force that would study the issue and come back with a recommendation to the board.
The board agreed to establish a task force that would have representation from both sides of the issue, the school board and administration. It would be limited to 20 members. The board will also have a mission statement for the task force, which it will present April 24.
The board is scheduled to meet at 2:30 p.m. April 23 to discuss the mission statement for the task force.
In other business, the board:
n Awarded a $2.52 million bid to Peterson Sheet Metal of Bemidji to install a new ventilation system at the middle school.
n Heard a presentation from a teacher and four students on the redesigned NLS Web site. The address is the same at nls.k12.mn.us.
