Dunbarton Elementary School will revert to a half-day kindergarten program next year, just one year after the program was approved.
An article that would have raised $97,192 to send up to eight sixth-graders to Bow Memorial School a year early was soundly defeated during the Dunbarton School District town meeting. The article would have allowed the full-day kindergarten program to continue for another year after larger-than-expected kindergarten and sixth-grade classes threatened to push class sizes beyond what the district deemed necessary.
According to school board member Jeff Trexler, the incoming sixth-grade class will have 31 students and will have to be split into two classes. At the same time, they initially projected 11 students for the kindergarten program, which would have fit into one room; however, a pre-enrollment in November showed 22 students were signed up. The school has 13 classrooms, and traditionally has two teachers per class. The kindergarten class will be split into two classes.
The district follows the state’s guidelines for kindergarten through second-grade, which recommends no more than 25 students per class, but strives for no more than 20 students. The state also recommends no more than 30 students per class for third- through sixth-grade, but the district strives for no more than 25. Voters approved full-day kindergarten last year with the understanding the program would shift back to a half-day model if there was not enough space.
Residents against the article voiced various concerns. Ann Morrill felt the projected 32 cent tax rate increase attached to the article was too much for seniors and others on fixed incomes. “Kindergarten needs aren’t the only needs in the town,” she said.
Others spoke passionately about how the choice to separate students from their classmates was unfair to those who would remain in Dunbarton.
“We moved to Dunbarton for the small class size and a tight-knit community,” said Jessica Jacques, a resident and parent of a fifth-grader. “…It’s not the other students who volunteered to go to Bow I’m worried about, it’s the ones left behind that concerns me.”
Those in favor of the amendment were equally passionate about how full-day kindergarten is beneficial to students.
“As a teacher and a parent of a kindergartner, I can tell you the way that education is heading is going to be more intense,” resident Ed Nears said.
Another resident and parent, Matt Delude, was shocked by the intensity of the full-day program.
“He can do complex math problems; when I was in kindergarten I was learning the alphabet,” Delude said. “This is what we need to educate our children.”
Voters approved a $6.5 million operating budget, up 6.12 percent from last year’s $6.1 million budget. An article that would have raised $240,000 to be placed in the Dunbarton capital reserve fund was passed after lengthy conversation. The money would be used for future projects such as replacing windows, toilet renovations and the roof on some of the buildings.
The projected impact on the tax rate for the budget and approved warrant articles is $1.82 per $1,000 assessed property value.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at candrews@cmonitor.com.)