Wes-Del board approves move to enrollment-based preschool fees to stabilize program revenue

Kelly Christie, who oversees the district preschool program, told the board she wants to shift preschool billing from an attendance-based model to an enrollment-based model to stabilize staffing and budgeting. "We're going to charge that $150 a week whether you're here one to five days," she said, describing a system that holds a spot for an enrolled child and charges to preserve staffing capacity.

Christie said the district currently charges $150 per week to outside families and offers in-district reductions. She proposed a $200 deposit for new enrollments (with $150 applied to the first week's fee and $25 each for registration and supplies) and recommended pausing charges for two weeks at Christmas break, spring break and fall break because the school is closed. For shorter absences she recommended a 50% weekly charge only for families who miss an entire week; partial-week absences would not receive prorated credits under the new model.

Fiscal impact: Christie presented sample calculations based on current enrollment and said moving the two classes now charging part-time rates to full enrollment billing would increase weekly revenues by $684 and, across a 36-week school year, add roughly $24,624; she later summarized approximate additional revenue of about $32,000 when broader adjustments are applied. The board discussed voucher coverage and Christie said the voucher value (as she characterized it) was roughly $147 per week, noting that in practice voucher families at the district would pay only a small amount under the new rate.

Board action and context: The board voted to approve the updated preschool tuition and enrollment policy. Christie said the preschool operates as a stand-alone entity that does not currently require district subsidies and that enrollment billing would bring the district in line with local child-care practice while preserving slots for families who choose to keep them.

The change includes updating enrollment packets and the handbook to reflect payment expectations and deposits; Christie said staff would begin using the new forms for next year's enrollments.