COMMITTEE AGREES ON KINDERGARTEN AID PACKAGE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          Friday, May 30, 2008

Contact: Senator Sylvia Larsen

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COMMITTEE AGREES ON KINDERGARTEN AID PACKAGE

CONCORD – A committee of House and Senate members reached an agreement today on a bill to help certain towns pay for the start-up costs of adding public kindergarten.

Senate Bill 530 will provide full state funding for temporary classrooms, furniture and fixtures to the 12 remaining school districts that lack public kindergarten, along with per pupil aid for these kindergartners. The communities also will qualify for state aid to construct permanent classrooms.

The committee agreed to add a technical amendment to clarify legislative intent on a related bill, Senate Bill 539, which identifies the cost of an adequate education including kindergarten.

Senate President Sylvia Larsen (D-Concord) said the language was sought as a safeguard to protect so-called donor towns from having to remit money to the state over the next two years. The amendment simply affirms existing law regarding donor towns.

“It’s critical that the Legislature pass both a kindergarten aid plan and an education costing plan this year. We all understood that the intent was not to recreate donor towns and this amendment would clarify and guarantee the intent of this Legislature,” Larsen said.

The Senate reluctantly agreed to let communities contract with private kindergartens for up to three years, saying the bill was too important not to reach a compromise.

“We have already done a lot to adjust this bill to accommodate the needs of these communities. Using public money to pay private contractors for kindergarten should be very temporary,” Larsen said.