Seymour will offer full-day kindergarten at all its elementary schools for the first time next year.
MaryAnne Mascolo made an e‑mail announcement to the school community about the news Tuesday night.
“We have implemented full-day kindergarten not only at LoPresti School but across the district after trying to do this for seven long years,” Mascolo said in her email.
The district previously offered full-day kindergarten at only LoPresti school, but that program was cut a couple years ago amid tightening budgets.
The Board of Education was able to add full-day kindergarten after it cut costs in other areas.
Among the cost cuts approved Monday night:
- Five teacher retirements
- The elimination of an administrative position, which saved $58,050
- Conversion from oil to natural gas for heating, which could save $160,000
- The district did not implement all the positions initially requested
“I feel we have been blessed by these events and now have the opportunity to do more of the things that we have said we were going to do and the things that the public has repeatedly called for,” Mascolo said in her email.
Parents should be pleased about the all day kindergarten because it is the best educationally, and also makes sense financially for parents, said Edward Strumello, chairman of the Board of Education.
“It’s a money saver, because part-time kindergarten becomes a baby sitting issue for the rest of the day. Educationally, it is the best thing for the kids,” Strumello said Wednesday morning.
The cost savings were discussed at a Board of Education meeting Monday night. The district is in the process of hiring the four kindergarten teachers approved by the board, Strumello said.
“We’ve been fighting for it several years, but its one of the things that always got cut back because we got a level budget,” said Board member Jeanne Loda said.
