Preschool remains tuition-free, for now

MT. PLEASANT — Following conversations about adding a tuition for 5-year-old preschool students, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District Board decided not to add tuition for the 2023-24 school year, but will consider adding tuition for the 2024-25.

As the youngest students in the district celebrate preschool graduations this month, the school board discussed the possibility of adding a tuition for some students in the near future.

“We're not going to charge tuition for next year,” MPCSD Superintendent John Henriksen said.

Discussions from the Finance and Policy Committees meetings earlier this month, lead the board to consider adding tuition for 5-year-olds attending preschool.

According to Henriksen, the statewide voluntary preschool program only provides funding for those students that turn 4 years old by Sept. 15.

Currently, MPCSD does not charge for students that attend preschool after this cut-off, however, other neighboring districts do.

“If you had a 4-year-old at that time who you felt was too young, and you said, ‘I'm not going to put them in to preschool, they're too young,’ At that time, you wouldn't have known [about a tuition],” Henriksen said.

“We will serve your child as a 5-year-old, and we're not going to charge a tuition because we didn't give you a heads up,” he said.

While the board will consider and discuss adding tuition to the 2024-25 school year during their July board meeting, they felt it was not fair to parents to add it this upcoming school year.

Parents should consider this possibility when deciding when and if they register their children for 4-year-old preschool.

“Let's just say that, this year, coming up for this fall, you have a 4-year-old who was born between May 15 and Sept. 15,” Henriksen explained. “Let's just say you're that parent. You have that kid. Well, right now you can make a decision: they can go to preschool for free this upcoming school year, but if you wait till the next year and put them in when they're five, the District would allow that, but it may cost me some tuition.”

Despite allowing 5-year-olds to attend without tuition for the 2023-24 school year, Henriksen says that 4-year-old students will take priority.

“You have to serve four year olds,” he said. “So the board decided that if there is room, that yes, the district will consider serving 5 year old students.”

According to Henriksen, the district would give preference to students with summer birthdays where the parents might have felt the students was still too young to attend this last year.

The register for preschool with MPCSD, visit www.mtpcsd.org and find the registration application under at the preschool link under the schools tab.

For addition information contact Cindy Smith at the District Office at cindy.smith@mtpcsd.org

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com