Would You Pay $3,055 For Full Day Pre-K?
Decatur Metro | February 25, 2011That’s the question that the City Schools of Decatur is asking parents of would-be Pre-K students next year, after Georgia Governor Nathan Deal released his plans for the HOPE scholarship – which currently funds all Georgia Pre-K programs – earlier this week.
With Deal’s plan likely to pass, CSD is already informing families that Pre-K would most likely be cut to a half-day without an additional payment of $3,055 from families. Head Start will pay the additional costs for their 20 Pre-K spots, according to a note from a parent on a local message board who spoke with Assistant Superintendent Thomas van Soelen yesterday. Additionally, the roughly $3,000 tuition will not cover after-2:30p Chex Mix/Animal Crackers childcare. Those costs will remain incremental, according to the note.
As a result of this massive, likely change in funding, CSD has canceled the current Pre-K lottery for the coming school year. The number of full-day and half-day spaces/classrooms won’t be determined until CSD can get an accurate measure of how many students are willing to pay the $3,055 for full-day care.
Parents have until March 7th to let CSD know of their intentions. UPDATE: You can read the full letter sent out by Superintendent Edwards HERE. (h/t: KMT)
Considering the quality of teachers at College Heights, it’s still a bargain at that price.
Good point. It would also show the rest of the state how to do it without state, or lottery, help.
A bargain for most Decatur residents, yes. Not sure many areas of the state would be able to follow suit, though, even if they wanted. Long term it would be nice if Pre-K was needs based (with lottery money going to low-income only) or simply brought into the K-12 financial fold.
Few questions/comments:
1) CH was free for City of Decatur residents, while others had to pay tuition. I’d always assumed that our high tax rate paid for such an amenity — is that incorrect?
2) As a parent of one child who went through CH last year, and another child due to attend with the coming year, i’m disappointed. My younger child will be less prepared for kindergarten than his older brother was in teacher-led instruction. As a married family that encourages reading/writing/math at home, we can make up for the shortfall. But I feel for the kids that don’t have that sort of support at home, as they’ll be far less prepared for “big school” than their classmates.
3) All that being said, it’s only pre-K and is by no means a final decider in how far a kid goes in life.
MCB – i was wondering the same as your point #1. So now we will pay high taxes AND tuition?
School budgets are made up of local tax dollars, state tax dollars, and in the case of pre-K, lottery dollars. If one source is cut, you either have to raise the other two sources, or look for alternative sources. In this case, state isn’t going to increase its share of tax based dollars (no matter what they say about holding the line, I’m expecting cuts), and it sounds like school board wants to explore tuition option before raising the already high local millege rate. What do you think is more fare, tuition or millege rate for all?
Tuition is certainly the better option of the two, as my head will explode if someone proposes even higher taxes than what we already pay…count us in as one family that won’t be paying the extra tuition, though. We’ll take our measly 3 hours and make due.
From a free market perspective, however, some privately run pre-K programs will certainly benefit, as a few that I know of would now be less expensive than College Heights. CH seems set to suffer either way, which is a shame.
Do the private ones received lottery dollars? If so, they won’t be cheaper anymore.
Some do, like Phoenix School–right? And there’s a Japanese preK in Norcross that does because I know a teacher there. But I’ve never understood why some private schools have lottery funded preK slots and others have tuition slots only. It may have to do with the state requirements. Some private preKs may prefer their own approach and are not in need of state dollars because plenty of parents are willing to pay full tuition.
PreK is funded by the lottery, not by your Decatur school taxes. CSD taxes only go to K-12, as they should. I had 2 kids go to church preschool (3 hours plus lunch hour) and one kid go to CH. They were equally well prepared for kindergarten so I wouldn’t sweat it from that angle. Much of that extra couple of hours is spent in lunch, extra recess and a mandatory “nap.” They won’t miss much actual instruction b/c the nap, lunch time and extra recess will no longer be necessary.
Frankly, I don’t think instruction for more than 4 hours is even developmentally appropriate for 4-year-olds, which is probably why most of the hours past 4 at College Heights are taken up with other things.
MCB–to your first question, no, there is no tuition cost for Pre-K students, even for those outside Decatur. They just didn’t get dibs on the spots. Up until next year, Pre-K has been completely lottery-funded.
BUT it still has not passed and if you think the program is worth keeping, please let Governor Deal and our local legislators know how you feel. Here is the link that I posted earlier in the week.
http://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/8424/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=248
As a long time school system employee (not Decatur) and a Decatur parent, I am outraged that when it comes down to it, education is what gets cut. Full day, funded PreK, is investing in our future as a state and a nation. There is ALOT of research that shows the most long term benefits are with a full day, quality preK program. Georgia typically scores in the bottom 3 of all nationwide educational measures. And cuts like these are not working to change that scary statistic. Even if you are not a parent, this affects you as a resident of Georgia. My family currently pays daycare costs and can (luckily) afford to pay for a quality program like GA Pre-K. However, many of the families of the children who need it the most cannot. They also cannot afford to pay for a quality private pre-K program. In the end that affects us all. If you agree with some of the things I said (and I know some will not) then please make your voice heard. We cannot complain if we do not attempt to change it. Sorry for the rant, I am just fired up!
OK, I’ll say it again. Pre-K is not funded by the state like K-12 is. Pre-K is only funded by the lottery, and the lottery is no longer making enough money. Yes, education is being cut, but it’s being cut b/c this particular educational item is completely dependent on lottery proceeds, not state taxes.
See my post above for the relative benefit of full day vs. 4 hour pre-K. It’s not that much of a loss.
As a pre-K teacher at a private preschool, I want to second what you said about the developmental appropriateness of a longer day. Most of that afternoon time is really spent babysitting because their attention spans don’t allow for that much instruction. Pre-K is not required to do well in school if parents are willing to do a little bit at home, like encouraging your child to write his name with an appropriate grip, cut with scissors correctly , and wait patiently for his turn , while expecting good manners at all times and reading lots and lots of books!!!
My child will be okay and I have the means to pay for the extra tuition. I understand that lottery earnings are down and the full day PreK is a rarity in most states. But lower income families really suffer because studies show their 4 yr children DO benefit from full day PreK instruction. This is not a CSD issue but a state issue, in my opinion.
Anyone notice how quickly the retailers’ hit in Deal’s proposal got softened?
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/hope-bill-moving-swiftly-850991.html
The post says we should let CSD know.
How do we do this? We just registered our kid for preK.
It’s not CSD’s fault. It’s state legislation. CSD should not divert K-12 money to pre-K. In fact, I bet it’s not even legal for them to do so.
I feel like a broken record.
I found this on the College Heights website:
http://eclc.csdecatur.net/School-News/I04D9484F.0/Pre-K%20letter%20.pdf
Thank KMT. I was having trouble locating it.
I posted this on the Lottery/thread but it probably belongs here instead:
I’m so shocked about Georgia preK that I don’t know what to think. IMHO, it is not only one of the few shining achievements in Georgia education, it was one of the many factors that led to the renaissance of CSD in the late 1990s. Two-income families who were routinely sending their children to excellent private preschools like Montessori schools or Paideia, and then keeping them there once they hit elementary school age because the family had already invested time, money, and emotional connection in the school, now had another option once CSD offered preK. After a good year in preK, they would go ahead and keep their children in CSD where they had developed friends and trust. The parent participation, sound parenting, volunteering, and monetary support that those families brought to CSD helped it flourish.
I kind of agree with those who say that a full day of preK is a bit long for 4 year olds–I think that private preKs, even those that provide an all-day experience in conjunction with daycare, do a better job of providing a developmentally appropriate experience. Our family experienced both settings. Four year olds walking the College Heights halls quietly with their hands behind their backs may have a better academic experience than those attending more learning-through-play oriented private preKs, but I prefer the latter. But that doesn’t mean that the CSD full day preK wasn’t an excellent option and one very needed in the community. I hope that CSD can offer an attractive enough package of funded preK and tuition after care that its preK program remains a useful option for two-income and single parent families. Otherwise, we may see a lot of Emory, CDC,Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Turner, CNN, medical, legal, and other professional families switching back to many of the excellent private schools in the area. We can’t afford to lose those folks from CSD–their involvement and their political and tax support of the school system are critical to its success.
And I really feel for the two-income and single parent families who are caught in this transition period. Right now, there’s not enough full day preK slots to go around in the private sector even for those who can afford it. It’s going to be a scramble if the CSD PreK Program can’t serve their needs for full-day care
The CSD renaissance began long before the late 1990s; more like 1990 and on, before Zell Miller and the lottery. The elementary schools were overcrowded by 1996 and the renovations and expansions began shortly after. It’s interesting how if you weren’t here then, it didn’t happen.
I stand corrected and don’t want to take anything away from the parents and CSD staff who were part of the renaissance. Having a high quality preK in CSD probably just built upon that renaissance. But I do remember a time when it seemed like two-income families in Decatur were sending their kids straight to Paideia, The Children’s School, Cliff Valley, The Friends School, Arbor Montessori, St. Thomas More, Waldorf, etc. without even considering CSD. The preK option gave them pause for thought because it was better than leaving kids one more year in daycare before they went on to private elementary school. I know of families who then got hooked on the concept of the neighborhood elementary school. Before that they just transitioned right from driving them to daycare on their way to work to driving them to private school on their way to work.
I have always felt that tuition free pre-k should be based on need. I wonder if that $3K CSD is asking for would subsidize some kids that come from lower incomes. Similar to how the YMCA works, a regularly priced membership helps subsidize memberships to those that cannot afford it. By the way, I have 2 kids that went tuition free, but would have paid the $3K, definitely worth it and less than equivelants in the private school arena.
Re cost: Very true that even $3,000 is a reasonable, although you have to add another $1,000 for after care to make a direct comparison with all-day daycare/preK options but that’s still half or under half the cost of some of the private daycares, preschools, and preKs in the area. I prefer some of the private schools’ curricula and approaches and find the schools a little more customer-friendly but their application processes and high tuition are certainly off-putting.
If I were in the position of having another little one heading towards preK, I would probably strongly consider the College Heights preK again, even with ~$4,000 in costs. But I would probably speak up a bit more and hold CSD more accountable. We had some occasional staff and bus issues that I would never have accepted if I were paying tuition.
I think that this will really be bad for the pre-k teachers who will probably have to take a pay cut.
I’ll bet some of the good ones will leave for charter schools like some of our good paraprofessionals did over the last couple of years.
@karass, Those excellent paraprofessionals, teachers: both lead and Spanish, are excellent professionals in the Grant Park neighborhood charter schools. Surprisingly, the pay scales are higher in Atlanta. Those charter schools do not have the Georgia Pre-K program. The Georgia Pre-K program has a set state curriculum, very different from those charter school’s constructivist teaching approach.
What has not been discussed here is that employees at the College Heights ELC are now CSD employees. Previously, it was managed by the YMCA.. Are the operating costs now higher since CSD may be paying additional salaries in providing benefits for employees?
If so, are these costs being passed on to families in the preschool, not the Pre-K?
Another consideration is if the Frasier Center at Decatur High School will have more capacity due to the recent renovations. Also, are the preschool costs comparable?
The preK teachers have always been CSD employees. Only the 0-3 program was affected by the YMCA getting the boot.
What is sad is that the kids who need the extra time the most will probably not be able to afford the tuition, while the kids whose parents could afford to go to private pre-K anyway will be the ones who will pay for the extra time.
Not making any value judgments here. If it were my kid, I would pay, but just pointing that out.
Exactly right.
A reminder – unless there’s a public outcry sufficient to stop it, the state is going to stick taxpayers with a $400,000,000 tab for the new Falcons stadium.
Meanwhile, we “can’t” afford to educate kids from lower and lower-middle income households.
Q: How many studies do we need demonstrating that stadiums never generate anywhere near sufficient economic gains to offset their costs and that their claims at neighborhood revitalization are, without dispute, total BS?
A: One more than we have now.
Preach it brother!
Just back from Supercross with three kids. It was educational, but I’m sure they would have gotten more out of it in a new facility.
Football is very educational:
PreK: Teaches kids to count from 1- 4 (First through Fourth downs)
K: Teaches counting to ten (1st & 10, 2nd & 8, etc.)
1st Grade: Teaches counting up to 15 (Personal Foul, fifteen yard penalty)
2nd grade: Teaches numbers up to 50 (50 yard-line on down)
Once you accept the educational merits of sports then spending $400M for a stadium doesn’t seem so crazy. Isn’t that the same amount we’re spending on the 4/5 academy?
Whoa, you had me in a taxpayer panic for a second, thinking that the 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue was as expensive as a new stadium (although it is certainly as valuable IMHO). So I did one of those kitchen sink searches through CSD eBoard (aaargh! Why isn’t there a decent search function?!) and found a document from the 11/09/2009 Board meeting that seems to suggest that the school is only costing 8.4 million. But while there, I found a paragraph that supports what Rachel Fiore had posted–CSD seemed to be hoping that SPLOST IV-VIII would allow us to pay the debt instead of having to use the general fund:
Financial Impact
“$10 million capital lease financing to be paid back through general fund. The financing strategy utilizes interest only payments (under $400,000) for the first 3 years, and the remaining 22 years would be principal and interest payments (under $700,000). The long term plan considers moving the obligation from the general fund to the capital fund when the SPLOST IV referendum is on the ballot. “
That jives with what I read during a similar kitchen sink search.
Professional sports (and big-time college) are one of the great pacifiers. Can’t find a decent job? At least you can watch millionaires play football on TV.
Sports are the opiate of the masses…that’s certainly true in our house.
Publc money for a private, and can I add rich guys, stadium. While state workers and the middle class are being screwed. Can not say I am surprised. Look who you elected
I would not be inclined to fork over that money for a longer day. I think anything is better than nothing, and I am not sure that 4-5 year olds really benefit from such long school days. I am generally not a fan of Hope for families that could otherwise afford to contribute monthly to a 529 or similar plan.
To pre k teacher- Sid you just say baby-sitting ?
My daughter was not being baby sat and as a teacher I am surprised you would even say that other teachers were babysitting…
I just love the politics around here…
They sure know what is important…
How many student slots under the current pre-k system are available at College Heights? I thought I read 20 either in this thread or on the Oakhurst listserv thread. If that minimal number is correct then the CSD changes have a minimal impact. And just WOW if due to a 4 hour day, the number enrolled can become 40 with a 2nd session. Now that’s a greater positive impact IMHO than the reduction in time for the 20.
I see that the 20 are the Head Start sponsored classes and from the letter that there are currently 9 pre-k classes.
I think it’s 180.
Sharon-
The way the state is funding the 1/2 day includes 4 instructional hours and 1 hour of planning for the teacher. I can’t see anyway that 2 half days could be a viable option because that would make for a teacher who works longer than 8 hours/day. For instance, arriving at 7:00 first session 730-1130. Lunch. Second session 1200-400. Planning 400-500. Plus, Bright from the Start has tons of documentation and assessment requirements for students. Doubling the number for the teacher would make it very difficult.
I’m in favor of shorter days for PreK. It’s why I didn’t send my child to Georgia PreK.
I pay more than that for private preschool because even tough I live in Decatur I could not get my child into College Heights. And yes I am thankful I can afford to do so and I realize not everyone can. It does bother me that the system is not fair.