Property taxpayers in Johnson County would have to fund the construction of dozens of classroom additions if the state mandates full-day kindergarten, school superintendents said.
Gov. Mitch Daniels’ proposal to implement full-day kindergarten by fall 2007 is impossible, Clark-Pleasant Superintendent J.T. Coopman said.
“We can’t do it,” he said.
Clark-Pleasant, the state’s fourth-fastest growing district in the state, would need about 20 more classrooms and 20 new teachers to expand kindergarten from a half-day program to full-day. Center Grove would also need about 20 additional classrooms.
“The total cost of this is not just adding half a teacher,” Coopman said. “We need twice as much space.”
The governor on Tuesday said the state will be in good enough financial shape to allow kindergarteners to more than double their time in classrooms. He said he would like to see the plan happen by fall of 2007.
The latest cost estimate for the statewide program is more than $140 million.The state’s share would depend on how lawmakers structure school funding formulas in future budgets.
Money for tuition support would help schools pay for the extra instructional time and additional teachers that likely would be needed. Some schools might have to spend more money on their own to build more classrooms.
Educators said they can’t argue with the benefits of full-day kindergarten. In fact, Center Grove is already planning to offer a section at each elementary school next year. All of Edinburgh’s kindergarten classes are full-day.
“We’re very supportive of it, that’s why we’re trying to do it on our own,” Center Grove Superintendent Candace Milhon-Baer said. “But in terms of space it would be tough. It’s a good problem to have.”
Adding classrooms, teachers, equipment, more school buses and maybe even more cafeteria space makes the cost of the program more than the governor is planning, Coopman said.
Coopman and the district’s business manager are researching the total cost of the proposal for Clark-Pleasant.
Any cost to build additional space would come from raising local property taxes.
Schools with growing enrollments and cramped buildings are already trying to find space for an influx of kindergarten students expected this fall. At Clark-Pleasant that could mean as many as 30 more kindergarten students this fall, or two to three more classes of kindergarteners.
