West Springfield adds preschool classrooms without adding costs

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Three years ago, the district started with three preschool classrooms to see if families were interested.

The response was huge — those classrooms filled quickly and had a long waiting list.

"We saw the need and expanded the program," Mayor William Reichelt said in a statement on Facebook this week.

To help more kids, the district added four more classrooms the next year. Then last year, it opened seven and this year, the total has been brought up to eight preschool classrooms across the district.

The goal is to eventually offer preschool to all families who want it, helping parents save money on day care and giving young children a strong start in school, he said.

What's special about this growth is how it was done, Reichelt said.

First, the district moved the grant-funded classrooms into the regular school budget. Then, it added four more classrooms without using new tax money. This was done by reusing positions from staff who had retired or moved on.

Last year, the district had seven full preschool classrooms, all filled, and the waiting list was gone. This year, it saw more demand and found room in the budget to keep growing.

This budgeting also helped expand the half-day preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds from four days a week to five, Reichelt said.

West Springfield has never had full universal preschool before. In the past, the only preschool option was the half-day program for 3- and 4-year-olds, four days a week.

Reichelt said the program still might not work for every family, and private preschool and day care are still available.

Read the original article on MassLive .