Schools
School Board Approves Tuition Hike for Early Childhood Program
Tuition for the Wentzville School District's Early Childhood program at Quail Ridge will increase 7% next year.
At Monday night's rescheduled Wentzville School District Board of Education meeting, the board approved a seven percent tuition increase requested by Kevin Garcia, principal of the Quail Ridge Early Childhood Center.
In a letter to Dr. Terry Adams, Garcia said that a comparative analysis of early childhood education centers in the area showed the school district's to be the lowest, at approximately $12 per day.
A seven percent increase would result in fees of approximately $13 per day, a figure that Garcia said would still be in "the bottom end of the market." The district currently subsidizes about $30,000 of the program costs.
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The addition revenue will be used to offset increased staff costs and also for classroom furniture.
Garcia also mentioned that the program has had to adjust the ratio of special education students to typically developing students, who pay the tuition.
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"This is the only viable option at this point because we do not have the physical space to open a new classroom," Garcia said in his letter.
"Long term, we have to find more space for that program," Chief Financial Officer Kari Monsees said.
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