GUILDERLAND — The state’s Board of Regents has made a proposal that schools must offer full-day kindergarten programs.
"It almost seems like this is a solution in search of a problem," Gregory Aidala, superintendent for the suburban Guilderland schools, told The Enterprise yesterday.

He first raised the issue at Tuesday’s school-board meeting, stating the initiative could have a significant impact on the district’s budget. Aidala said he will be discussing the issue with legislators as the State Legislature has to adopt the proposal before it would become binding.

Guilderland currently has a half-day kindergarten program.
In 2000, a committee made up of teachers, parents, administrators, and local child-care workers "concluded we are meeting the needs of our students with the current half-day program," said Aidala.
He said there was a push for full-day kindergarten in some rural areas because they "don’t have the same access to pre-school programs as a suburban community."
And, Aidala went on, "There’s concern in urban areas where kids need to get off to a good start."
He concluded, "These are not issues we face."

Guilderland currently has 19 half-day sections of kindergarten spread over five elementary schools, Aidala said. To move to a full-day program would involve hiring nine-and-a-half teachers, he said.

The cost would come to about $900,000 annually, he estimated. This would include supplies and equipment, he said, as well as salaries and benefits for teachers and teaching assistants.

The district would not have to build new classrooms, Aidala said, because it currently rents space to BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) classes, which could be reclaimed. However, the district would lose about $230,000 annually, which is figured into the estimated cost of $900,000.
"The thing of great concern to us is unfunded mandates," said Aidala. "Nine-hundred-thousand dollars is a big hit."

The district would capture some aid the year after the program was initiated, he said.
"If our students were not performing well, we’d need to look at full-day kindergarten," said Aidala. ‘But they do well academically."

He referred to David Elkind’s 1981 book, The Unhurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon.
Elkind has said that "full-day kindergarten is a day-care initiative, not an academic initiative."
"Why are we rushing" Where are we going"" asked Aidala.

The Regents proposal calls for phasing in full-day kindergarten, beginning in 2007-08 and completing it by 2010-11.
"Certainly," Aidala concluded, "we could do it but there’s going to be a financial impact. I worry about our taxpayers, not just locally but state-wide."

Other business

In other business, the school board:

— Accepted a clarinet donated by Carol Case to be used at Pine Bush Elementary School;

— Established non-resident tuition rates for the 2005-06 school year

The cost for kindergartners, in a half-day program, will be $3,515.

Primary students will be charged $6,503 and secondary students will be charged $9,915.
"We really have to abide by the formula set in law," said Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders;

— Accepted the low bid of five for 840 cases of copy paper from Ricoh Corporation for $15,691.20.
Sanders described it as a "tractor-trailer load of paper," and said the district purchased this amount quarterly.

Board member Colleen O’Connell noted that the cost of recycled paper was substantially higher;

— Appointed 10 volunteers to the Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee, which will meet a half-dozen times in March.

Half of the volunteers — Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, Mark Grimm, Daniel Jacobowitz, David Langenbach, and Mary Toscano — have served before.

The other half — Cheryl Alban, Steven Gonick, Walt Jones, Sean Maguire, and Kevin Risko — are new.

Last year, 29 volunteers served. Aidala said he was optimistic that more volunteers would sign up before the first meeting on March 2;

— Tabled the adoption of a policy on the notification of releases of Level 3 sex offenders, considered to be the most dangerous in the state’s three-tiered system. Some inconsistencies will be righted before the next meeting, the superintendent said.

Board members also discussed sending pictures of Level 3 offenders home with elementary students in sealed envelopes.

Board member Richard Weisz said attendees at an elementary PTA meeting were split on whether including a picture is appropriate.

Board member Barbara Fraterrigo said she had attended a Guilderland Elementary PTA meeting where all those present were unanimous in wanting pictures, and some thought the pictures should be mailed home.
At the last board meeting, Bakst had opposed sending home pictures, saying they are available on-line and it is "unnecessarily scary";

— Heard congratulations from Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Nancy Andress for students and teachers who participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Writing and Artwork Invitational;

— Heard that the high-school music department will present its annual fund-raiser for the Guilderland Music Parents and Friends on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m..
Tickets for "Pops Goes Around the World" cost $6 for table seats and $5 for stadium seats; and

— Met in executive session to discuss administrative performance reviews and to discuss a real-property issue.