No Answer Yet on Full-Day Kindergarten in Moon

Superintendent Donna Milanovich urged school board members to act on adopting a proposed full-day kindergarten program so that the district can "move forward" from the issue. 

"I would like us to resolve the full-day kindergarten issue and move forward," Milanvich said. "I'd also like to reiterate that [adopting the program] is the right thing to do." 

Board member Jerry Testa introduced a motion to adopt a full-day program at the board's Monday night meeting, which failed to move to a vote. 

Testa said there was "no question" that a full-day program was sustainable for the district. 

"In business it's called paralysis by analysis," said Testa, who has expressed support for the program. "You avoid making a decision and you never end up making a decision. [Full-day kindergarten] is something that has been in the plans for years." 

The district has been exploring the option of adopting a full-day program for kindergarteners since 2007. Milanovich said the decision to move fifth-graders to the renovated middle school was made largely to free space in the district's five elementary buildings for a full-day kindergarten program. 

District teachers and administrators have a full-day program, saying that the additional classroom time leads to academic performance. School board members said budget constraints may stymie plans to adopt the program.

The district conducted its annual kindergarten for school admissions in March. 

"We could parade in experts from both sides of the fence," Milanovich said. "We aren't going to get any further on the issue."

School board president Sandra McCurdy said ongoing building projects as well as pension and health care costs could deter the district from adopting the program, which will cost a projected $300,000 a year to implement. 

"We need to understand the entire budget before we make a decision on one item," she said. 

School board member Laura Jo Schisler said, if adopted, the cost of the program could prevent renovations from taking place at the district's Allard and Hyde elementaries. 

Board members also said a full-day kindergarten would result in class sizes as large as 23 students—a number that Milanvich said was the result of board members urging for reduced costs in the program. 

Residents in attendance at the meeting and former board members James Donohue and Mark Scappe called for the district to adopt the program. 

"The school board should know that there are social, emotional and academic advantages with all-day kindergarten," said Moon resident Trisha Maritato.

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