Board Approves Full-Day Kindergarten

The Montville Board of Education has voted in favor of a change to full-day kindergarten.

In Tuesday's meeting, the board also accepted Superintendent Pamela Aubin’s proposed 2012-2013 budget of $37,627,497.  (Click here to read that story).

Both votes in Tuesday’s meeting were unanimous.

Board members and Aubin said that full-day kindergarten can happen in Montville without adding staff, and without adding money to the proposed budget.

In a synopsis to the budget proposal, Aubin pointed out that class sizes are declining. Full-day kindergarten would not involve hiring additional teachers, but using teachers already in the school system.

In the proposed budget, salaries for certified staff show an increase of $735,369; a federal grant of $610,000 that Montville received in the current budget is not coming to the town this year, though the state might be granting $166,239 to Montville. 

A committee that studied the proposal reported that it believes full-day kindergarten is the way Montville should go. Click here to read that story, and look in the photo box for a pdf of the report.

Two hundred fifteen people took a survey on the issue, according to the report, and 87 percent support the idea.

Aubin is thoroughly in favor of the idea. Click here to read that story.

Parents and educators have said that full-day kindergarten will benefit students, and will make Montville more attractive to camilies considering moving to the area. To read Oakdale Principal Mark Johnson's thoughts on full-day kindergarten, click here. To hear two parents' thoughts on full-day kindergarten, click on the videos in the photo box.

The vote was unanimous.