The kids on the bus aren’t going up and down. The wipers on the bus may be going “swish, swish, swish” or the driver may say “move on back,” but some area preschool students do not know. Kimball Area Public School District (ISD 739) does not provide busing to non-qualifying preschool students who live within a mile of the elementary school, unless it is an area that the district has deemed a hazardous crossing. ISD 739 designated Highways 15 and 55 as dangerous so children south of Highway 55 and east of Highway 15 are bussed. The lack of service to non-qualifying kids is raising many questions in the Kimball community. Area daycare providers attended the last school board meeting Thursday, Oct. 23, to voice their concerns about the issue. They said that they wanted to use the service and preschool was beneficial to the children they cared for, but it was harder to get students to preschool if transportation had to be provided. “Without busing in the winter, I feel that the opportunity [of attending preschool] will be lost for daycare children,” daycare provider Karla Davis said. “As a daycare provider, I can’t commit to walking two kids to preschool when I am watching over 7-10 children.” Davis said the issue went beyond watching over many children, it involved their comfort in her home. “As a daycare provider, we try to structure our day and activities. Having to walk down to school to drop off or pick up preschool children breaks up our routine. Our lunch and naps are cut shorter [on preschool days].” She also said it was very hard to take young babies out in the winter cold. Daycare provider Dee Leither reiterated some of Davis’s concerns. “I feel like my [daycare] kids are being left out because of my inability to get them to the school [for preschool classes],” Leither said. In her own personal experience, Leither sent her son to preschool two years ago. She said it was a struggle to get him there. “We had to shuffle things around with our neighbors to get him to school.” She also said that she has been trying to work with the school district for the past three years on this issue. “It would be nice if they would open it (the problem) to discussion and consider this or that option. It may make us feel like we have a district that does care.” Superintendent Scott Thielman has been working with the daycare providers to find a solution to the problem. So far, one hasn’t been found. He explained that the district is tied financially and cannot provide transportation to non-qualifying preschoolers. “If you look at the bigger picture, seven teachers and five para-professionals were laid off last year. We are trying to get within a balanced budget. Right now, our transportation costs exceed the revenue we get from the state.” Thielman questioned, “How can I be everything to everybody with a finite amount of funding.” In addition to the lack of monetary resources, Thielman said that the local bus services do not have the time to make additional stops. Available buses are busy during the noon hour. “If you figure each stop takes five minutes, as a rough estimate, time is [another] issue. The noon run is [already] tight with all of its stops.” A great program Everyone agreed that preschool is beneficial to young students. Thielman and the daycare providers said children are given time to socialize, learn about school, and meet future classmates through the preschool program. “We make preschool available to everybody. Preschool provides the foundation for education,” Thielman said. Maggie Lundorff is the local coordinator of Early Childhood Family Education and oversees Learning Readiness and community preschool. She said that preschool education leads to the betterment of the community. “I was just reading an article in the Star Tribune, from Oct. 15,” Lundorff said. She continued that the articles stated that there were few things Minnesotans can put their money into that pays off in the same way as early childhood education. “For every dollar spent, there is a $12 return rate.” Lundorff explained that studies show children who received early childhood education are less likely to drop out of school, are more successful with less intervention, and are less likely to end up in the criminal justice system. She also said that preschool offers students a chance to get ahead before entering Kindergarten. “Education has changed. The bar has been raised. Children entering Kindergarten have a lot expected of them. We can prepare them for school [through preschool],” Lundorff said. “Preschool prepares students with basic skills, social interaction, interaction with teachers. They know the building and learn what happens in school. It really does prepare them. I see that time and time again.” Daycare providers cite the above reasons for enrolling their children, feeling they could not teach this at their businesses. “While I have a background in education, I don’t have a degree in preschool teaching,” Leither said. Davis added that Kimball preschool offers a new environment, and an access to school that she cannot provide. Part of this deals with caring for children of different ages and ability levels. “[Preschool was] the prefect opportunity to get these kids into our schools.” Leither said that preschool builds a healthy attitude toward school. “My children are excited to learn and go to school. I think that kids need that now-a-days.” Sharing the responsibility Just as good preschool students learn how to share and take turns, the school board, Thielman and providers are working together to find a solution to the problem. “I understand [the lack of transportation] is a budget concern, but I feel that this is our only road block,” Davis said. “We are brainstorming the issue,” Thielman said. “We are still looking. Right now, I don’t think I can see something right in front of me [a solution]. But I think that if we keep working we will find something.” He mentioned that the community is applying for a grant from the Initiative Foundation. This program asks the community to look at what services and programs they can provide to enhance early childhood education and services. Thielman said this grant would be ideal to provide money for transportation as it is for improvement in the community and not just for education. At the school board meeting, Davis said, “I feel that the community needs to come together to find a solution to this problem.” Thielman said that he will continue to work with the daycare providers to find a solution to this problem. An ideal world When asked what a perfect solution to the problem would be, answers varied but had one common theme. Davis responded, “Transportation, one way or another. Providing some sort of transportation for the kids, and it doesn’t have to be busing. Maybe walking is a solution.” “[An ideal situation] would be where every child would get a ride [to school] regardless of their location,” Leither said. Thielman answered, “If funds were not a problem and the budget was unlimited, we would provide transportation to everybody. We would meet their needs and come to their doors to pick up the students.”
