WEST SPRINGFIELD — Full-day pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds in West Springfield is expanding from three classrooms last year to eight classrooms for the 2024-25 school year.
School Superintendent Stefania Raschilla said the expansion is important because the number of families requesting pre-K was nearly double what the district could accommodate during 2023-24.
“Last year, 102 students applied for 54 slots,” she said. “Based on data and feedback, we’ve adjusted the ratio for the 2024-25 school year and are accepting 112 students. There were over 140 applicants, but not all applicants qualified.”
Before last year, the district offered five half-day pre-K classrooms for some 4- and 3-year-olds, four days a week. Those classrooms supported students with disabilities and their peers.
Raschilla said the full-day program for 4-year-olds gives them more opportunities to increase their socialization, problem-solving, language development and math readiness skills.
This expansion, however, is unlikely to lead to a universal public school pre-K program any time soon. Raschilla said the district has decided not to move forward with universal pre-K at this time. She said many factors led to this decision, including how a universal public pre-K program would affect the town’s private preschool and day care providers.
“We have met with some private pre-K providers and discussed ways to serve all families in West Springfield that are looking for pre-K opportunities for their children,” said Raschilla.
“We are just excited to offer families the option of a full-day program for their 4-year-old if that is what they feel is best for their child,” she added. “Families should have the option to select what fits their child and family best.”
The superintendent said public pre-K is not the only way to do that. She said the community would be better served by developing “a team” that includes public and private providers to serve all families, particularly those who need a program that extends beyond the traditional school day.
“The family may be better served in a private pre-K where their needs can be accommodated,” she said.
According to Mayor William Reichelt, a pre-K task force, which will consist of the superintendent and two unidentified large private day care providers, will look at how best to make pre-K universally available in town.
“When we first brought this up, we initially thought of rolling out our universal preschool program similar to Springfield’s, but private day care providers brought their concerns to our attention — which led to the creation of the task force,” said Reichelt, who serves as chair of the School Committee.
City Council President Sean Powers agreed with Raschilla that a public pre-K program is not the only way to meet the needs of families.
“If you work 7 [a.m.] to 3 [p.m.], how does the public program assist you if your child cannot be dropped off until 8? If you work 9-5, who picks up your child if you have no after-school day care?” he asked. “We need to examine what programs — private and public — can help individuals who work different schedules.”
Powers said any implementation of a universal public pre-K program in West Springfield would take “quite some time to iron out to ensure it’s effective.” However, he said one of the hoped-for benefits of universal pre-K would be lowering the monthly private child care cost of between $1,500 to $1,800 per child.
“We need to examine what private and public programs can help individuals who work different schedules,” he said.
He said he’s aware of towns and school districts in the area that offer a hybrid public-private pre-K program, but hasn’t investigated how those districts have benefitted.
“I certainly haven’t looked into any road bumps that they were met with or how they were overcome,” said Powers.
Another factor in implementing a universal pre-K program is cost. Raschilla said to serve students in a classroom with a teacher and a paraprofessional currently costs about $100,000 in salaries per room.
The superintendent said each grade level runs between 280 and 320 students. She said if all families in a grade level wanted public pre-K, it would require about 18 classrooms.
“We know that not every family wants to send their child to full-day pre-K — some like half-day, and some families need additional care before or after school, and some families choose to keep their children home until kindergarten. With all of those factors, we would likely not ever need 18 classrooms,” she said. She added that another reason some parents prefer private day care is that the program runs year-round, whereas public pre-K follows the public school schedule, with summers off.
Raschilla said that months ago, the cost for universal pre-K was estimated to be $1.8 million, but “that number would be if everyone who had a 4-year-old sent their child. We know that would not happen, because it is not mandatory.”
Affordable or budget buster?
Powers said if the district were to offer universal full-day pre-K, state aid would help pay for it, but town officials still need to be mindful of adding on additional programs to the town that may increase taxes.
“I do think the town can afford to have a universal pre-K program, but we need to get a better overall cost of the program itself,” he said.
His council colleague Dan O’Brien, however, has the opposite view on affordability.
“I do not think West Springfield can afford universal pre-K. I believe it is a budget-busting Trojan horse to insert into an already grossly unaffordable school budget,” he said. “To be clear, the universal pre-K program will be a ballooning expense once added, and the taxpayers who might benefit in the short term will pay for it for the rest of their tax-paying lives.”
O’Brien said private day cares provide “a stable and controlled environment” that cannot be duplicated in the public sector.
“The main goal is to get the program on the town budget, then slowly increase its funding until it overwhelms the private sector,” O’Brien said. “The School Department has a hard enough time providing quality K-12. It should focus on that. “
Kira Thompson, a School Committee member who also operates a private day care in town, said she doesn’t see universal public pre-K having a detrimental impact on businesses like hers.
“There will always be younger children and families needing extended care,” she said. “Unfortunately, the need for quality care far surpasses the number of providers available.”
She said not every family can afford private pre-K, and their only option now is to wait until kindergarten. In addition, Thompson said children who need intervention cannot always be served at private pre-kindergartens. She said there will always be a need for both private and public pre-K in the town.
“Providing public pre-K options helps to ensure that children whose families can’t afford pre-K will still get a head start on their educational journey,” she said.
