School board considering changes for Royal public preschool

ROYAL CITY - If a public preschool in the Royal School District is of interest to you, the Royal School Board meeting on Monday, July 27, may also be of interest.

Discussion that night will likely include relocation of the District's preschool or keeping at the present off-campus location.

Options include: Relocating the district preschool to the main campus and using the existing portables; The preschool staying at the United Methodist Church; a new building be constructed specifically for the preschool; or adding more portables.

The July 27 meeting, a regular Board meeting, will get under way at 7:30 p.m.

There have been three recent meetings at which Superintendent Rose Search and the Board have discussed major changes in the program. It is supported financially by Washington Fruit.

Search said this discussion was started after Washington Fruit informed the district it would like to see an expanded preschool. WF would like to see one that serves students four full days a week with a capacity for 70 or more students.

The program that Washington Fruit supports now serves about 70 children, but they attend only two days a week. Half go on Monday and Wednesday and half attend on Tuesday and Thursday.

According to Search, Washington Fruit donates $175,000 a year to the District to run the current program. She said Washington Fruit has said it will donate the necessary amount for the proposed expansion.

Once Washington Fruit's donation arrives, it is the District's money. The district sets the educational program and goals and hires the staff to make those happen. Search said Washington Fruit has no say in how the program is operated.

With the help of Jane Gutting, former Educational Services District 105 superintendent, Washington Fruit reached out to the school district in 2010 and proposed the current program.

"They realized that there were children that were not going to a pre-school program and felt that this would benefit students, parents/guardians, and Royal School District as a whole," Search said.

The program was launched in 2010-11 in the 5th grade pod, with one classroom. It moved to the United Methodist Church basement the next year so more students could be served.

The first year was a pilot program, after which Washington Fruit decided to continue funding the preschool. It was pleased with what the district had done and the progress the children had made in one year.

According to Search, Washington Fruit even proposed purchasing land near the Royal Schools campus to put up a building that would house the preschool, with the stipulation that it would always be a preschool.

At the latest special meeting on this issue, the board did not make a decision whether to move the preschool to the currently empty portables on campus. But Search said the consensus so far seems to be against doing that.

"Board members are not necessarily opposed to relocating the preschool," Search said. "They are interested in looking at additional options."

According to Search, concerns of Board members include:

• The usage of the two portables with two classrooms in each portable because there might be other needs for these classrooms.
• If moved to a location on campus, would the bathroom facilities accommodate the preschool students?
• The district may need the rooms next year for regular students due to increasing enrollment. Then the preschool would have to be moved, and the United Methodist Church might not be available.

According to District Business Manager David Andra, the enrollment concern is warranted. He noted that at the same time the state is trying to reduce class sizes at the lower grades, the number of students continues to grow. Those portables could be needed for that age-level next year,

"Yeah, it's a real concern," he said.

Search said relocation of the preschool will likely be discussed again on the 27th, but she's not convinced the Board will vote. What seemed like a simple request has unearthed a lot of questions.