Jackson District being Surveyed on Full-Day Kindergarten

The Jackson School District is looking into the possibility of expanding its Half-Day Kindergarten program to Full-Day and has sent out surveys seeking public input. 

Changing to a Full-Day Kindergarten program would involve adding more staff and classroom space, according to Schools Superintendent Dr. Stephen Genco, who stressed the idea is in the exploratory stages.

"We're living within a two-percent cap, so you're also talking about a financial impact," he said.

Coming up with an estimated cost isn't easy though because predicting future student enrollment is difficult. "We could be having to add upward of 10 to 12 teaching staff," said Genco.

The District would have to look at First and Second grade enrollment projections as an indicator. "It would be tough for us to look purely at Kindergarten numbers because there's a lot of Full-Day programs that are private, and people who opt for a Full-Day program don't enroll their in students until First Grade," said Genco.

Survey responses will be collected until Nov. 15. Included in the survey is some background about the district to help provide context for the questions being asked, including the fact that the district uses 37 trailers for instruction. The survey also asks residents to prioritize various areas of district operations.