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Schools

Lack of kids puts prekindergarten program in bind

Only seven are enrolled in a free summer program, and that worries school officials. But there is still time to register.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published April 30, 2006

INVERNESS - The 488 families in Citrus County who passed on the universal prekindergarten program during the current school year have one last chance to enroll their 4-year-olds for summer.

So, why has the school district received only seven applications - not all complete, by the way?

With the start of the summer pre-K program only a month away, school officials are perplexed and alarmed by the low number of eligible 4-year-olds who have been signed up.

"I have teachers asking me, "When are you going to tell me if you're going to have a job for me?"' said Nancy Haynes, the district's pre-K coordinator.

In 2005, the Florida Department of Education estimated there were 1,126 Citrus children eligible for the universal prekindergarten program. Public schools and private providers are serving 638 during the current school year.

Haynes said 488 children remain eligible for the free program, but for the summer, only seven have signed up with the school district so far. Parents can also send their 4-year-olds to private providers, but Haynes only knows of one private provider that is offering summer pre-K.

The situation has put the Citrus school system in a real bind. The school district had made plans to offer pre-K at three elementary schools this summer: Homosassa, Citrus Springs and Pleasant Grove. But if not enough children are enrolled between now and June 1, the district could find itself without the money to hire the necessary teachers to run the summer program.

School districts receive $2,500 per student and the state requires a ratio of one teacher for every 10 students.

"I can't open the schools without teachers and I can't get teachers without kids," Haynes said. "I'm in a real tight spot."

Haynes said the district must offer pre-K as long as four children are enrolled. If the number of children who have enrolled stays at seven, the district will only offer the program at one school.

"It would be financially irresponsible for us to keep all three schools open otherwise," Haynes said.

Citrus is not the only county facing so many imponderables.

In conference calls with state education officials, some counties, including Pinellas, have voiced disappointment about the low number of 4-year-olds who are being enrolled.

Haynes and others are at a loss to explain why more parents haven't come forward.

Some speculate families don't want their children to spend their entire summers in a classroom.

Haynes thinks the fact that the state doesn't give school districts money to offer transportation may be another reason. Some families, she said, don't have time to take their children to school because the summer program times conflict with their work schedules.

School Board members were dumbfounded when they heard only seven children have been signed up.

"I'm shocked at the turn of events," board member Pat Deutschman said during a board meeting last week. "This was a program that people voted for overwhelmingly."

Florida voters approved universal prekindergarten in 2002 for all Florida children who are 4 years old on or before Sept. 1.

Parents can select only one of the program's three choices: the school district's 540-hour at-risk program, the 540-hour programs run by private providers, or a 300-hour summer program that could be run by the school system or private providers.

Superintendent Sandra "Sam" Himmel said she worries about the possibility that some parents will show up with their children at schools that are not scheduled to offer the program. After all, parents can enroll their kids at any point during the summer.

Himmel said there will be staff members the first few weeks of the summer program at all the schools to avoid such situations.

For information, contact Haynes at 726-1931.

Eddy Ramirez can be reached at 860-7305 or eramirez@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 30, 2006, 01:20:59]