All day kindergarten could squeeze school district’s already tight budget
Kelowna.com
August 27, 2009
By Adrian Nieoczym

Among the dire warnings of program cuts and deficits in Tuesday’s provincial throne speech, was a small mention of the government’s desire to introduce all day kindergarten for five-year-olds starting in September 2010.

It’s an idea Central Okanagan school officials support, provided of course the province can come up with the money to properly fund it.

“It’s going to cost $130 million provincewide, so we’re hoping we get enough money to make it doable,” said Rolli Cacchioni, chair of the Central Okanagan Board of Education. “It’s not only staffing that you need it’s also the space. In some of our schools, like on the Westside, we have 10 portable sites at some our elementary schools, so it’s going to be a challenge.”

The district’s superintendent of schools, Hugh Gloster, pointed out the Central Okanagan is one of the few school districts in the province where student enrolment is not falling and so it doesn’t have the same kind of unused school space.

“Some of our facilities are already maxed out,” he said.

He also said Tuesday’s announcement did not come as a surprise as it is something the government has said for a couple of years now that it wants to do….

The board was already planning to comb through this year’s budget, “almost line by line,” even before the government’s latest request, said Cacchioni….

“We’re not expecting much, so we won’t be disappointed,” said Cacchioni. “The government has said they will maintain the funding for public education. We’re assuming they’ll keep that commitment.”