The Idaho Statesman – Bill Roberts
“The Boise School District is in its second summer of offering Kindergarten Readiness on its own, after the United Way of Treasure Valley funded a similar class for three years. The district is using $36,000 in taxpayer funds to teach 119 children at four elementary schools, said Ann Farris, district regional director for the Boise High School area . The children are spending nearly four hours a day, five days a week, for four weeks ending Friday. State law prohibits schools from spending state money on early childhood education. The Boise district gets its money through a local property tax that dates back to before Idaho was a state. Most Idaho school districts lack that taxing authority. Some students are identified by teachers at kindergarten registration each spring as candidates who would benefit from a quick dose of prekindergarten prep. In other cases, parents seek to enroll their children, said Jessica Cromie, summer school principal at Horizon. Parents are not charged.”(more)