The Clancy Elementary School Board is considering a new pre-kindergarten program that could launch with the 2025-26 school year.
At the school board’s Jan. 15 meeting, Superintendent Daryl Mikesell provided a general outline of how the fee-based program might be initiated. He said a recent community survey showed about 18 families in the district expressing interest in a prekindergarten offering. Mikesell said he was surprised by the high level of interest, and expressed confidence the school could fill and sustain the new student program.
Mikesell cautioned that the program would have to be tightly managed to ensure the school had sufficient resources and ability to expand if required. He said his calculations suggest limiting the program to six students initially, leaving room to add up to another six, for a total of 12, during the school year, if needed.
The initial cost of the pre-kindergarten would be about $112,000, mostly related to staffing, according to Mikesell. Public schools receive state funding based on their enrollment in the previous academic year, so Clancy would have to bear the first-year expense on its own, relying on fees paid by the families of enrolled pre-schoolers.
Board Vice Chairman Trent Jensen expressed some hesitation in the potential hidden costs. “We’ve worked really hard to get the budget where it is,” Jensen commented. “I hate to see so much risk.” And Elementary School Principal Kendra Fanning expressed concerns about the extra staffing and administration required for the program.
Mikesell said he was still looking at how to manage resources, but was confident in a positive outcome. He has experience in developing prekindergarten programs, having established a curriculum for the Montana City School while he was principal there.
He explained the importance of Clancy School being able to offer a program for 4-year-olds. “The other schools in our area are already doing it,” Mikesell told the board. “Boulder has a program, Montana City started one last year, and East Helena has been doing this for 12 years. If we don’t get on board soon, we will lose some kids who start at one school and want to stay there.”
Mikesell and some of the teachers in attendance spoke about the importance of getting to students who may have learning difficulties as early as possible. Being able to identify problem learners earlier gives teachers and the school an advantage in subsequent years with better knowledge of a student’s needs. “It’s not like the old days when you went to kindergarten and learned colors and letter sounds. Now they come into kindergarten on day one and hit the ground running, trying to meet the literacy-based educational standards,” Mikesell told the board.
Board member Marci Parks remarked “I don’t think it is a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’ we start this program.”
Fellow board member Gina Davis agreed. “I think we’re doing a great disservice to this community by not having one (a prekindergarten program).”
After nearly an hour of discussion, the board directed Mikesell to continue looking into establishing the new program and to keep them informed on progress.
