By Bill Fonda
The state budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker July 8 eliminated the $18.6 million kindergarten expansion grant program, but the cuts won’t affect Westford’s newly launched full-day kindergarten program, according to Superintendent Everett “Bill” Olsen.
Westford’s full-day kindergarten pilot program will be budget-neutral and completely funded by fees paid by parents with children in the full-day classes. Tuition is $4,200 per student per year.
“The reduction… will not impact our plans for moving forwards,” Olsen said. “The grants are primarily for planning purposes. We don’t anticipate that changing at all. It’s regrettable that there are any cuts in education programs. The reality is, these cuts have to be made somewhere. We dislike them being made in education, but those are choices that have to be made by the governor and the Legislature.”
Some local officials saw the trouble on the horizon.
Maynard Superintendent of Schools Robert Gerardi said the town recognized the possibility early in the budget cycle, so it took a proactive approach in filling the $51,200 gap.
“We’ve had full-day kindergarten for a long time,” Gerardi said. “When the governor’s recommendations to eliminate it came out early in the budget season, we felt that it was so important for us that we put it in the annual budget for the town. Our town sees a value in it, and it’s a wonderful program to have full-day kindergarten. It wasn’t even a question to include it in our full budget proposal.”
Likewise, Lexington Superintendent of Schools Mary Czajkowski said the district worked during its budget process to support full-day kindergarten on its own.
In fiscal 2016, Lexington received $177,440 to support a full-day kindergarten program, but Czajkowski said the school budget was able to absorb those costs, maintaining a level-service budget.
“In preparation of the elimination of full-day kindergarten, we built that into our budget,” Czajkowski said. “We are carrying on as planned with no impact.”
This was in large part, according to Czajkowski, because of the value she and the community sees in early education.
“In all my experiences working in any district, full-day kindergarten students are really open to learning much earlier,” Czajkowski said. “We would really take steps backward if we ever went to a half-day program. Research has shown that schools which don’t offer full-day kindergarten, students regress or may not move ahead and advance.”
Bad timing for towns
Because towns approve their budgets before the state does, the state budget is always a variable in the town budget process. In Billerica, Superintendent Tim Piwowar said officials are still working through the details of the cut, as it came well after Town Meeting approved the town’s budget.
Full-day kindergarten started three years ago in Billerica, and Piwowar said the grant money was significant in getting it up and running.
In fiscal 2016, Billerica received $68,320 from the grant, which helped pay for professional staff and supplies.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said of the cut. “We remain fully committed to free full-day kindergarten.”
This year, Piwowar said Billerica can find savings in other areas in order to keep the program running, including some savings related to out-of-district tuitions.
According to Piwowar, full-day kindergarten costs about $1.6 million annually, and going from half-day to full-day was about an $800,000 jump.
“Politically, it would be nearly impossible to go back to half-day kindergarten when you have full-day kindergarten,” Piwowar said.
The full-day kindergarten grant fell victim to the need to cut $750 million from the state budget during the House and Senate conference committee process because revenues were not as much as expected, according to state Sen. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont).
“We try to avoid changing anything that affects municipalities in their budgeting process,” he said.
“While the state’s economy remains healthy, we now expect fiscal year 2017 tax revenue to come in lower than expected primarily due to the below-benchmark tax revenue collections in fiscal year 2016,” stated Kristen Lepore, secretary of the state’s Executive Office for Administration and Finance.
The state’s fiscal year begins July 1.
State Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord) said state revenues were dropping during budget negotiations, which Baker, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg and House Speaker Robert DeLeo saw in the monthly revenue reports they receive.
“They didn’t see enough money forecasted, so you have to make cuts then and there,” Atkins said.
A matter of priorities
Overall, the $38.92 billion state budget increases Chapter 70 aid for local school districts by $116 million, or 2.6 percent.
Brownsberger said the kindergarten grant is not intended to be a permanent aid program, but a way for municipalities to start offering full-day kindergarten and stand on their own two feet, and that it is important to look at the overall context of local aid.
“Local aid — education aid in particular — is always a top priority of mine and of most other legislators,” he said. “I am disappointed that we were not able to continue the kindergarten grant program, but pleased that we were able to increase the overall local aid package.”
Gerardi said he sees the previous grant funding as the state’s way of indicating full-day kindergarten was a priority towns needed to make, and that the cut is due to Baker’s shifting priorities toward other sectors of education in the state.
“I have seen the governor’s initiatives around vocational education and adult education, and so sometimes it’s priorities, and they shift to a different area,” Gerardi said. “I’m hopeful the governor will still be focusing on education, just he’ll have his own priorities.”
Czajkowski also called the loss of full-day kindergarten funding a priority shift from former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration.
“I thought that early education was a priority,” Czajkowski said. “It certainly was a priority at the Patrick administration.”
With increased funding for vocational and adult education, Czajkowski said the shifting priorities make her question the value of early education in the Baker administration.
Early education investment not only betters learning through a child’s educational career, but also allows for early detection of problems that could have major impacts later on, Czajkowski said.
“I understand with grants that they come and go and that they’re really seed money,” Czajkowski said. “Early education doesn’t seem to be a priority. For vocational education, there’s been a very strong voice that’s been pushing toward that. I go back to the fact that your greatest resources should be placed early on to prevent long-term costs for interventions.”
Some towns not affected
Like Westford, Concord, Winchester, and Bedford were also not affected by the cuts.
According to Superintendent Diana Rigby, kindergarten is covered by the Concord Public Schools budget, and it is a hybrid program with three full days and two half-days. Each student will attend a fourth full day every six weeks for small-group instruction, as designed by the kindergarten teachers.
Atkins said state kindergarten money first goes to “gateway cities,” then to urban areas. As for affluent communities like Concord, she said, “They’re at the back of the train, if they ever get money.”
Will the money come back?
When asked if Baker could take money from somewhere else and divert it to kindergarten, Atkins said, “Not unless he’s got (the money).”
State Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) said he hopes the Legislature can get the money back, although the net impact on education in this year’s budget is still positive.
“I was extremely disappointed to lose this funding. I disagree with that approach,” he said. “I will certainly be lobbying to have that line item back next year. Both of my children experienced full-day kindergarten and I understand the benefit it has for children in community.”
Reporters Al Gentile, Bram Berkowitz, Henry Schwan, Amelia Johnson and Alexander Silva and Matt Murphy of State House News Service contributed to this story.
Originally posted July 12, 2016.
Bill Fonda 