Wayland School Committee seeks ARPA funds to save full-day kindergarten

WAYLAND -- January 11, 2023, Wayland schools ask town to redirect remaining ARPA funds to full-day kindergarten. The School Committee voted Wednesday to send a memo to the Select Board's ARPA subcommittee requesting roughly $460,000 to fully fund full-day kindergarten in fiscal 2024, after the town instructed the district to cut $731,000 from its budget. Superintendent Omar Easy and the finance director told members full-day K, currently split 0.65 town/0.35 family tuition across nine teachers and nine assistants, would be "the first and most logical place" to absorb the reduction. The committee separately voted unanimously to establish a Special Education Stabilization Fund and seed it with $15,000 via a town meeting warrant article, with nine potential unilateral out-of-district placements looming and the circuit breaker reserve expected to be exhausted. Members called the ARPA request "a creative solution" and committed to roll full-day K into the operating budget by fiscal 2026.