By Janine Davis Record Staff Writer Plans for a preschool in the Wright City R-II School District are being pushed up. Officials plan to take advantage of funding from the state that will pay for 80 percent of a new dedicated preschool building. The original plan approved by the school board earlier this year was to open the new school facility for the 2015-16 school year with 80 3- and 4-year-old students, leveraging state funds from Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) to cover about 80 percent of the cost of building construction and a portion of operational costs. “We’ve learned that in order to leverage that 80 percent reimbursement and be able to open in the fall of 2015, we need to serve up to 80 students in the 2014-15 school year,” Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines told the school board during its May meeting. The fast-track plan will require immediately hiring two teachers and two aides, finding space and addressing budget concerns. The combined cost for two teachers and two aides would be about $163,420, plus supplies, which would be reimbursed 100 percent by the state in the 2015-16 school year. “If this is something we’re going to do, we need to advertise for teachers tomorrow and file information with the state to meet its deadline,” Gaines advised. “We’re asking what your thoughts are tonight so that we can maximize funding to build the building,” Gaines said. “Otherwise, we have a higher share of the cost.” “We need this now,” said Mary Groeper, board treasurer. “I see the need every day.” The tuition would be free next year because the cost is fully reimbursed by ECSE, but it may be tuition-based for some students in the years following. Gaines told board members that he had met with Wright City West Elementary staff late last month to explain the situation and asked for input about where students and teachers could be located. Based on this input, administrators developed a plan to move people around at West to accommodate a preschool there for a year while construction of a new building takes place. Gaines reported that at Wright City East Elementary, there are 12 regular classrooms and all are in use. In January, the school board unanimously approved the building of a preschool, calling the project “urgent” in providing area children with the early social and emotional development and subject preparatory skills necessary to successfully navigate school. The new building will be located between the district’s central office and Open Hearts United Methodist Church on Bell Road north of Interstate 70. It is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $900,000. The new center will house preschool, early childhood special education and Parents as Teachers programs. For financing operations, administrators have floated the idea of moving funds in the levy from debt to operations to cover the 20 percent of operational costs not covered by ECSE and to offset tuition. “If we want to explore this financial concept more in depth, we need to take a longer term look at the impact on our long-term debt and ability to build a new high school,” said Gaines. Every member of the board voiced support for moving ahead on the expedited plan. “We need to go full-force on this,” said member Heidi Neill.
R-II speeds up plans for preschool
