Caldwell-West Caldwell to Host Info Sessions on Full-Day Kindergarten Ballot Question
CALDWELL, NJ — On Tuesday, Nov. 6, the Caldwell-West Caldwell community will have an opportunity to vote on an initiative to give kindergarteners in the district a full-day experience, beginning September 2019. The question on the ballot will read as follows:
There shall be raised an additional $600,000 for General Funds in the 2018-19 School Year. These taxes will be used to employ additional personnel and to acquire additional supplies in order to implement a full-day Kindergarten program. Approval of these taxes will result in a permanent increase in the District’s tax levy. The additional taxes authorized herein will be used exclusively for purposes described herein and to finance expenditures that are in addition to those necessary to achieve the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
Rationale:
Although the current Caldwell-West Caldwell kindergarten is excellent, the time frame of two hours and forty-five minutes limits the options we can provide to our students. A full-day program would allow for sufficient time to address the new, more challenging standards which our kindergarteners must meet. As noted in the Policy Brief on Full-Day Kindergarten on the New Jersey Department of Education website:
“Research comparing half-day and full-day kindergarten shows that children benefit from a developmentally appropriate, full-day program, most notably in terms of early academic achievement—a foundation for school and life success. Full-day kindergarten can afford children the academic learning time needed to prepare for mastery of primary-grade reading and math skills. In doing so, such programs help circumvent subsequent needs for remediation or grade retention.”
Research on full-day kindergarten has also shown that it helps to foster students’ social, emotional, and behavioral well-being. Students in full-day programs have been found to have improved self-regulation or “executive function skills,” such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, and the ability to control one’s attention and behavior.
Finally, there is evidence that suggests that there are economic benefits to investing in early education programs. In addition to potential property value increases from the addition of full-day kindergarten, economic analyses have shown that investing in young children can promote higher economic growth by improving the skills of the workforce.
Implementation Plan:
The district currently operates a tuition-based “Kindergarten Enrichment Program” (KEP) at Harrison School for 115 kindergarteners. The original plan for the 2019-20 implementation, if the ballot initiative were to pass, was simply to expand the KEP model for all of the district’s students. However, it has become apparent that the limit on the KEP model, due to transportation and other logistical issues, would be approximately 120 students. The plan has therefore been amended to provide for full-day classes at each of the four K-5 buildings, with five additional classes at Harrison School. Students would not be bussed from building to building, as currently happens with KEP.
If the ballot question is approved on Nov. 6, the timeline would be as follows:
● From November through August, the district would renovate classrooms and bathrooms in Harrison School in order to meet state facilities requirements.
● From January through August, district teachers and administrators would complete curriculum revisions to reflect the full day schedule.
● From March through May, the district would conduct personnel searches to recruit and hire additional teachers.
● From March through June, the district would complete the assignment of students, most likely involving the use of a lottery, to determine placements.
While the enrollment of kindergarten students in buildings other than their “home” schools is not ideal, it appears to be the most feasible plan for initial implementation of full-day kindergarten in the district.
Financial Implications:
After receiving increased state aid in July 2018, the school tax increase was reduced to 1.7 percent, or approximately $87 for the average home in the Caldwell-West Caldwell district. The amount of the ballot initiative, $600,000, represents an additional 1.4 percent increase for 2018-19, which would bring the total tax increase for 2018-19 to 3.1 percent. The additional increases in property taxes for 2018-19 would be approximately $79 for the owner of an average-priced ($420,307) home in Caldwell and approximately $77 for an average-priced ($437,900) home in West Caldwell.
The $600,000 increase to the tax levy would be permanent. Since Caldwell-West Caldwell is a consolidated district, the tax impact fro m year to year of these additional funds would vary, depending on a number of factors.
Information sessions will be held at Harrison School on the following dates:
Wed. Oct 3, 7 p.m.
Mon. Oct 8, 6 p.m.
Thurs Oct 11, 7 p.m.
Thurs Nov 1, 7 p.m.