Board to Get Update on Full-Day Kindergarten Plan

Superintendent James Mitchem is scheduled to present a report on plans for an all-day kindergarten program in at the district’s Jan. 9 school board meeting.

The district has been exploring adding a full-day program . Over the summer, parents were overwhelmingly in favor of the program, with 85 percent saying full-day kindergarten is a good idea for Valley View.

But more than half of the survey respondents said a proposed $150 per month fee was too high.

Mitchem the program could prove vital to student achievement by giving kids an early academic advantage. Full-day kindergarten is part of the superintendent’s efforts to shift resources to grades K-3, helping students with achievement delays early on in their academic careers rather than later.

Financial update

Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Gary Grizaffi will present the latest state funding update.

According to district documents, Illinois now owes Valley View $8.1 million — a big jump since last month, when the state’s tab was at $3.9 million.

The state owes the district quarterly payments for both September and December, according to district documents. That includes funding for special education, transportation and state school lunch program reimbursements.

Also on the agenda is a proposal to renew a contract with lobbying firm JAR Consulting. The company was hired last year to represent the district in Springfield. District officials credit the lobbying company with successfully pushing for legislation that . The new law allowed Valley View to restructure its debt to help keep property taxes down.

The one-year contract would pay out $3,000 per month to the consultants, ending in December 2013.