State funding gives boost to Clarkston's kindergarten programs

Nothing is changing for this year's kindergartners, but additional state funding for full-day kindergarten will help the Clarkston School District save precious cash.

Parkway Elementary will join 268 other schools receiving state funding for full-day kindergarten after the Washington Legislature approved a $90 million increase during the last session. The addition means 491 schools statewide will offer full-day kindergarten.

All of Clarkston's elementary schools offer full-day kindergarten, but Parkway will join Grantham and Highland elementary schools on a list of state-funded programs. The state's goal is to have funding for full-day kindergarten for all Washington students by the 2017-18 school year. A state Supreme Court decision last year reinforced that mandate, defining full-day kindergarten as part of "basic education."

Clarkston Superintendent Darcy Weisner hopes Heights Elementary, the last Clarkston elementary school not funded by the state, will join the other three soon, but said full-day kindergarten is a priority regardless of state funding.

"If all-day kinder was good for some of our students, it should be good for all," Weisner said.

The Clarkston School Board voted to fund full-day kindergarten throughout the district last year, despite a tight budget. The addition of Parkway to the state's rolls lightens the financial load for the district.

"We'll continue to pay for our fourth elementary that is not on that list yet," he said. "But it was good news that we're going to get our funding."

State dollars cover the cost of upping the number of classroom hours from 450 to 1,000, including teacher salaries and benefits, materials and curriculum. Washington is adding schools incrementally based on need - schools with the highest percentage of low-income students are eligible first. When the 2013-14 school year begins this month, 44 percent of Washington's elementary schools will offer full-day kindergarten.

Yet some schools, like the Mukilteo School District just north of Seattle, have been unable to add full-day kindergarten because of other restrictions.

"One of the unfortunate consequences of overcrowding is that we simply don't have the additional classrooms available to make full-day kindergarten happen," Superintendent Marci Larsen said in a state-issued news release.

Mukilteo is considering taking Clarkston's self-funded approach. The advantages for early instruction - especially in reading - Weisner said, outweigh pinched budgets.

"We know that exposure at that young of an age to instruction, does have a greater impact on the ability of those students to learn long term," Weisner said. "The research says that, so we felt it was important."

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Brown may be contacted at dbrown@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2278.