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“We were initially promised $1 million, then it was moved down to $850,000 then $650,000,” Corr said Monday. “Some of the (DPS preschool) classrooms didn’t fill that we had anticipated. We budgeted for $850,000, so this is not what we expected. … They know we’re not satisfied.”
The Preschool Promise board is also expected to vote on the contract at its Wednesday meeting.
Associate Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said DPS planned for seven additional preschool classrooms this school year, based on enrollment projections from Karen Lombard, DPS’ director of early childhood education.
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But Lolli said the district postponed and eventually cancelled hiring staff for those classrooms as enrollment never met projections. In fact, with a shortage of 4-year-olds enrolled, Lolli said the district accepted 3 ½-year-olds to fill all existing preschool seats. She said DPS has been partially reimbursed by vendors for materials the district ordered for those extra, now-cancelled classrooms.
Preschool Promise Executive Director Robyn Lightcap said Monday night that DPS would have gotten more funding if enrollment had led to creation of those extra classrooms.
“We’re very excited to have DPS as a partner. They are a key player in what we’re doing with Preschool Promise,” Lightcap said. “We wanted to support their desire to move to a five-day, full-day format. We’ve met with them multiple times to see what the cost would be for that, and based on all of those discussions, this ($650,000) is where we landed.”
The contract approved Monday night says DPS and Preschool Promise leaders will meet in January to review the actual expenses incurred in the expansion, with the possibility of additional reimbursement from Preschool Promise if the cost exceeds $650,000.
The income tax measure that Dayton voters passed in 2016 provides roughly $4.3 million per year to Preschool Promise, with the group using that money for family tuition assistance at private preschools as well as staff training for both public and private preschool providers.
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City, school and Preschool Promise officials have all pointed to high-quality preschool as a way to prevent low-income students from starting school academically behind.
School board member Sheila Taylor urged DPS administrators to more aggressively market the fact that the district’s preschools earned the state’s highest rating, saying DPS shouldn’t rely solely on Preschool Promise’s marketing campaign.
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