Preschool stays the same for Royal

ROYAL CITY - The Royal School District Preschool, the status of which was discussed this summer by the school board, will remain where it's been since the second year and will continue to serve about 70 students twice a week.

The Board did not make a decision to change anything at its regular meeting of July 27. That, Superintendent Rose Search said, means the preschool will continue on as it is.

"There is no time to make a change this year; School is about to start," she said.

The preschool has been held in rented space at the United Methodist Church since its second year. It is funded by Washington Fruit of Yakima but operated autonomously by the District.

Because of limited space, Search said, the preschool has been limited to about 70 students. Half attend on Mondays and Wednesdays. Half attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There were 67 graduates this year.

Change for the preschool surfaced at the regular Board meeting of Jun 22 and the Board Work Session on June 29. It was proposed that the District bring the Preschool to the main campus and offer four days of education instead of two per student.

The discussion included parents, District Preschool staff members, private preschool operators. The over-riding factor on the minds of Board members was space next year and beyond.

The Board was told by other school administrators that if the Preschool were moved to one of the portable classroom buildings on campus, it might have to be moved again a year later.

District Business Manager David Andra supported that claim, saying the portables could be needed by the elementary school as early as next year because of the down-sizing of classes and the growth of the student population.

Washington Fruit's Cliff Plath was at the meeting of the 29th. He said he would be willing to build a Preschool building on campus and could do it by the start of the 2016-17 school year. But he could not promise it.

According to Search, Plath suggested expanding the scope and size of the Preschool. She said he felt that would further help youngsters prepare for kindergarten. Many are children of his employees.

The issue was not on the agenda for the regular Board meeting of July 27. It was not discussed. It simply died.

According to Search, the District Preschool will continue to have 70 student slots. She said applicants are tested and ranked by order of need.

"As of now," she told the board on June 29, "there currently is no waiting list."