Kindergarten Fund Inches Toward Final Goal; Meeting for Parents on Tuesday

The parents' group that in the last month has been raising funds to reinstate full-day kindergarten for 2011-12 had reached $400,600 as of Monday afternoon, just shy of the , reported Adam Hecht, who with his wife Janina launched the effort.

The group, the Bernards Township Public School Initiative, could reach the goal by Tuesday, Hecht said. He said he would on Tuesday pick up checks mailed in over a three-day weekend, including Monday's holiday.

Hecht also called upon parents to attend one of two meetings on the group's fundraising efforts, scheduled for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the

The Hechts had said they hoped to reach the $420,000 mark before Wednesday, when the board's finance committee meets to discuss the group's initiative and whether to recommend to the entire Board of Education that the funds be used to reinstate full-day kindergarten for next fall.  The next meeting of the entire board is set for Monday, Jan. 24.

The group last month launched a rapidly organized effort to raise money to reinstate the kindergarten program after the school board voted to reduce the program to two hours and 30 minutes for next fall, and to lay off half of the district's staff of eight kindergarten teachers. That move, and the reduction of one instructional period at Ridge High School, were among the first of promised cuts to absorb the Bernards Township school district's loss of millions of dollars in state aid since last winter. 

Both Hechts and Steve Hornblow, who also organized the fundraising initiative, have been invited to the finance committee meeting, the Hechts said.

"Dr. Valerie Goger, Superintendent of Schools, informed us that, to her knowledge, the Board of Education has never voted contrary to the finance committee’s recommendation," according to an email issued last weekend by the Hechts and Hornblow. "To the extent this pattern continues, we’ll have our unofficial answer the evening of Jan. 19," the email said.

The finance committee will meet with the Board of Education on Friday, Jan. 21, at which time they will make their formal recommendation, the email said. Schools Superintendent Valerie Goger had in December set Jan. 21 as the deadline for meeting the fundraising goal of $420,000.

The board members is expected officially vote on Jan. 24 whether to accept the funds to reinstate kindergarten, according to the superintendent's earlier comments. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the William Annin Middle School.

"We should all be there. A strong show of support is necessary," the Hechts and Hornblow said in their joint email.

Parents were asked to come to the Tuesday library meeting with checks in case the group needs a final amount to reach the goal. "We will also discuss our plans moving forward," the email said.

The email thanked parents and other contributor for their "incredible support.
"We are confident we will be successful. We have proven that it certainly does 'take a village' and we feel fortunate to live in a community as unified and supportive as ours," the email said.

As the group was the organizers noted that the month of fundraising included the Christmas and New Year's holidays, along with a major snowstorm.

Although no amount was set for contributions, each household with children to attend kindergarten next year was being asked to contribute $2,000 to preserve the full-day program, and to provide some funding calculated by school officials necessary to carry over the full-day program to the following year. About 320 township children are due to next fall enter kindergarten in one of four elementary schools.

The Hechts had  November contended that contributing to continue the six-hour township kindergarten program would provide a more consistent education and would be cheaper than a proposed "wraparound" program that would give parents the option of signing up for an extended day at their local elementary school. The Somerset Hills YMCA had been assigned to provide that program, to be run by certified teachers, at an estimated cost of between $310 and $350 per month for each kindergartner.