Jenny Mitchell, the district's director of student support services, told the committee the district is proposing two immediate changes to address growing pre-kindergarten demand: consolidate pre-K into one building (Clough) and add a third pre-K teacher to create a full-day "turning-5" classroom.

Mitchell said Memorial is currently at capacity for pre-K and the district has 10 students on an early-intervention radar to be evaluated between now and June, plus six additional children in the pipeline for the fall. "As of right now, Memorial is maxed out," she said, and that any new eligible students are currently being evaluated and placed at Plough because of space constraints.

Financials presented to the committee show the district's estimate for a new full-day classroom (a 9:7 split of typical general-education to special-education seats) would cost about $75,100 in added expense; Mitchell said the classroom revenue is projected at roughly $76,500, providing a near-offsetting revenue stream depending on enrollment and tuition rates.

Committee members raised concerns about consolidating pre-K to one building. One member noted that travel time and convenience for families could affect enrollment and that consolidating could unintentionally push families to private providers. Mitchell and elementary principals said the proposal aims to balance classroom composition, share resources, and provide teams for coaching and planning.

In the same presentation, Mitchell and elementary principals described district investments intended to keep students in-district rather than send them to out-of-district placements. Those in-district investments include hiring full-time Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), adding school psychologists and speech-language pathologists in each building, and embedding occupational and physical therapy staff. Mitchell said these steps have helped stabilize out-of-district tuition and transportation costs and let some students remain in district.

She added that pre-K is "the most variable" enrollment area because the district receives early-intervention counts only a few months before a child's third birthday. Committee members asked for clearer enrollment tracking for upcoming months to finalize staffing decisions.