The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board plans to vote on reinstating fees for the West Sedona School preschool program for full-day preschool during its next meeting on Tuesday, July 9, at 4 p.m. at the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
The minutes of the board’s June 4 meeting stated that “because there is great demand and little to no state funding for the preschool program, the district is moving to a tuition-based preschool program.” The proposal will not affect SOCSD”s free all-day kindergarten offering.
“We understand that that might be difficult for some families to do,” SOCSD Superintendent Tom Swaninger said. “But in lieu of the other offerings throughout the community that are at a much higher cost, it is still what I would consider to be a very accessible program offering.”
SOCSD has offered tuition-free preschool since August 2020 in response to a decision by the Northern Arizona Council of Governments to shutter their Head Start program in Sedona.
“The cost of the preschool has been paid from the district’s annual maintenance and operations budget,” Swaninger said on Tuesday, June 11. “There were 20 students enrolled in the preschool class this year, with a waiting list of roughly 60 students. The [staffing] cost to run the preschool for [the] 2024 school year is approximately $160,141, which equates roughly to $8,007.05 per student … The district cannot continue to take on the full cost of free preschool.”
While SOCSD has been offering free preschool in the hope of increasing district enrollment , Swaninger said that not enough children continued in the district to make free preschool a viable recruitment tool. The district is also aiming to double its capacity for preschoolers from 20 to 40, which requires additional staffing. The program is currently staffed by one preschool teacher and two classroom aides.
“The board didn’t vote on any particular funding structure at this point,” SOCSD Governing Board President Randy Hawley said. “[SOCSD staff] has got to crunch the numbers to see just exactly how much they’re going to need and then how they’re going to be able to get that money. The only thing for sure is that it can’t be free. We just don’t have that much money.”
The tentative preschool fees for the 2024-25 school year will be $450 per month for full-day preschool or $250 monthly for families who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Parents were notified of the changes by letter on Monday, June 3.
“Please let us know by June 17 if you would like your child to continue to participate in our preschool program and to reserve your child’s current spot in our preschool program,” outgoing West Sedona School Principal Elizabeth Tavasci wrote in the letter. “After June 17, we will be opening available spots to our wait-list students. We are looking to expand our preschool offerings based on enrollment.”
The reinstatement of fees has not yet been approved by the board, and was first discussed by the board during its meeting Wednesday, June 4.
“We were under a bit of a time crunch [and] if we waited until July to [inform parents], I believe that it would be possibly putting our families in a more difficult spot with the timing of it,” Swaninger said. “Meaning that school would be starting in just a few weeks [on Thursday, Aug. 1], and we would need to have that information ahead of time of who is still interested in the preschool program.”
Swaninger added that the district is having a preliminary discussion with an unnamed benefactor who may supplement an undetermined portion of the costs of the preschool program.
“I don’t anticipate there being any pushback from [the board on the fees] from the discussions that we’ve had — the board seems to be in favor of that,” Swaninger said. “But if we were in more control of the timing of it, and the timing of the family who has offered to help supplement the program a bit, I think it would probably been better to have [the board vote on the fees] in June. But the lesser of the two evils, I believe that it would be better off for us to communicate that information to our families as soon as possible. And then if for some reason [the board votes the proposal down] then we would have to revise that [information to parents].”
Swaninger said that no additional changes to the SOCSD preschool program are expected.
“Seven of the nine preschool students currently enrolled and eligible for return are confirmed to be returning to preschool,” Swaninger subsequently communicated on Thursday, June 20. “The other two have requested testing for early admittance to kindergarten, but will return to preschool if early kindergarten is not an option. [Additionally] 21 waitlist families have confirmed a desire to attend preschool with tuition. … Zero families have declined.”
