Preschool program paying off

By: Purvi Desai
   WASHINGTON — The school district’s newly integrated special education preschool program, barely one month old, is not only saving the district more than $20,000, but also generating revenue through tuition from mainstream students, the program director said on Tuesday.
   According to state law, each school district has to provide preschool programs for its special education students, and Washington, until Sept. 7, sent its students to other districts at an approximate cost of $22,000 per student, Superintendent Jack Szabo said last week. Christine Sevilla, director of special services said the out-of-district cost for the five special education preschoolers was $110,000. Now that the school is operating its own program, though, the district has saved $71,076, she said.
   Although the budgeted cost of the program originally was estimated at $59,924, the operating costs are $38,924, Ms. Sevilla said. The integration of mainstream students, whose parents choose to enroll them in the program, is bringing in $21,000 in extra revenue, school officials said.
   Special education preschoolers are not required to pay tuition when in house, according to state law. There are currently six mainstream students in Washington, who pay $3,500 in tuition each. The five special education students work side by side with the mainstream students, Dr. Szabo said.
   Dr. Szabo said the advantage for both the district and children is that they are able to stay in their own township and move into local schools with time.
   "There are special needs students we must provide a preschool program for," he said, adding that they provide mainstream preschool programs for those local parents wishing to enroll their children in such learning. "We are saving a substantial amount. The regular students are not required to do this program."
   If a township’s school district does not have its own preschool program, it is supposed to provide for out-of-district placement, Dr. Szabo said. He added that it is a growing trend for districts to start their own programs in house.
   "The cost (of sending) is becoming so prohibitive," he said. "You do want to keep students in-house, with the friends and the areas that they grow up in."
   The Washington School District’s preschool program is executed in two specialized rooms in the Childcare Center in the Robbinsville High School five days a week from noon to 2:30 p.m., Ms. Sevilla said.
   "They’re designed for this purpose," Dr. Szabo said, of the classrooms. "The furniture is all designed for the three to four-year-olds. In one of the rooms, there is s glass partition where parents can observe their children’s behavior. We have a playground area being furnished with specialized equipment for these children."
   The program offers speech and occupational therapy related services and a weekly gym class, Ms. Sevilla said. She said teachers are working to get high school students to observe and interact with preschoolers during the third and fourth marking periods this year.