DEL MAR — Under a limited program the district board approved earlier this month, a small number of students will have access to transitional kindergarten, or TK, in the Del Mar Union School District next fall.
The district’s transitional kindergarten early intervention program, as it is called, will be open to foster, homeless and income-eligible students who turn four years old by Sept. 1. District leaders anticipate that around 25 students will be eligible for the program, although the number could change.
The state requires all elementary school districts to offer transitional kindergarten, or TK, as a precursor to regular kindergarten for all four-year-olds by 2025-26. However, Del Mar is one of a handful of districts in California that claim to be exempt from this requirement as basic aid districts, meaning their income from property taxes exceeds state funding for average daily attendance.
At the board’s Jan. 17 meeting, district leaders said while they do not receive additional funding from the state to implement full TK, they are able to offer a limited program with excess dollars that were freed up due to declining enrollment.
“We don’t have the funding sources to add another grade level for all students at this time, and so having a transitional kindergarten early intervention program for a group of students is something we can do,” said Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Alison Feiberg.
Unlike schools funded under the Local Control Funding Formula, which lose funding when enrollment declines, basic aid districts receive the same amount of funding from property taxes even with the drop in students.
District leaders say that a decrease this past year freed up around $1.1 million in excess dollars. Along with putting some money toward unfunded facilities projects, staff proposed allocating $548,000 to fund two classes of the limited TK program, which could hold up to 40 students.
However, all eligible students who enroll will be accepted, they said.
The district board approved the program in a 3-2 vote, with trustees Katherine Fitzpatrick and Doug Rafner opposed.
Rafner said he supported the program but questioned what would happen if the available seats were not filled. If there are extra seats, he said he would like staff to come back for further discussion about how to fill them with other students.
“If we can’t meet what we’re approving, why not open it up to others?” he asked.
In a heated discussion, trustees Gee Wah Mok and Erica Halpern said they did not want to get into the possibility of expanding TK when they didn’t have enough money to fund it.
“I don’t want to open the door to a general TK program. I’m concerned that if you start to open up any spots to non-qualified students, we will just create a problem,” Halpern said.
Mok said that with the current funding situation, the district will never get to a full program.
The district board discussed the possibility of fully implementing TK at its December meeting but was told it would cost around $4.4 million to implement one full year for 290 children in 16 sections.
Fully funding TK would require the district to pull from its general fund, which leaders said could jeopardize other priorities such as small class sizes, STEAM+ programs and counselors.
Fitzpatrick, a staunch advocate for TK in Del Mar Union, disagreed that the district does not have the funds to provide TK. She noted that they receive more funding in property taxes than most neighboring districts and said declining to fund TK is a disservice to local families.
“This has been really great to see that you guys are making efforts to implement TK. However, I don’t want to limit it, especially if we have the ability to serve more students next year,” Fitzpatrick said.
A parent of a four-year-old who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting said she would like to see any additional funding go toward a TK program that prioritizes students based on age rather than income level.
“I hope that we can allocate this to the TK program, so some kids like my four-year-old can benefit from it,” she said.
Superintendent Holly McClurg said staff will come to the board with updates about other program details, including the location.
Four other neighboring elementary districts are also not offering TK. These include Solana Beach, Encinitas Union, Rancho Santa Fe and Cardiff school districts.
