Maize parents to save $225 a month on all-day kindergarten

Parents of Maize kindergartners will save some money starting this fall.

Superintendent Chad Higgins announced in an e-mail to families on Wednesday that the Maize district no longer will charge a monthly tuition fee to parents whose children attend all-day kindergarten.

Last year, the fee was $225 a month, according to the e-mail.

Higgins said the change was prompted by a new school funding formula approved by state lawmakers earlier this month that funds all-day kindergarten.

The new formula, which was crafted in response to a Kansas Supreme Court order in March, is awaiting Gov. Sam Brownback’s signature as well as a court review.

But Maize, a district of about 7,000 students that includes parts of west Wichita, decided to “proceed with this likely policy change in order to address the logistical challenges it poses,” Higgins said in the e-mail.

“This is an important development for Kansas public school children, allowing more students statewide access to all-day kindergarten programs,” he said.

State funding supports only half-day kindergarten programs. Over the past decade, an increasing number of Kansas school districts have opted to offer full-day kindergarten, which advocates say gives teachers more time to cover vital material and helps children who start school behind their peers.

Districts with high numbers of poor or at-risk students, including Wichita, underwrite full-day programs with money targeted at those students. More-affluent suburban districts often ask local taxpayers or parents of kindergartners to make up the difference, such as with a monthly fee.

Andover, a district just east of Wichita, launched a fee-based full-day kindergarten program in 2009. Families who opt for the full-day program pay $275 a month for the additional half-day.

It was unclear Wednesday whether that district plans to ditch the fee if the new school funding formula takes effect.

Goddard officials said they’re awaiting more definite word from Topeka that the new funding formula will pass court muster.

“Once the Governor signs and the Supreme Court reviews the bill, we will have a much clearer picture of whether or not this school funding formula will meet adequacy and equity through structure and implementation,” Goddard district spokesman Dane Baxa said in an e-mail.

“Until then, Goddard Public Schools will continue our practice of offering half-day kindergarten and an optional fee-based, full day kindergarten program to our students.”

Higgins, the Maize superintendent, said in his e-mail that other enrollment fees, including a $95 annual “elementary curriculum fee,” still will apply for families whose children attend all-day kindergarten.

The district plans to communicate additional details directly with families whose children are enrolled in half-day kindergarten for the coming year, he said.

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Maize parents to save $225 a month on all-day kindergarten."