CVSD children’s programs to move

Central Valley School District will move the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program and the child-care program from Broadway Elementary School to University Center next fall.

The move will open up two classrooms at Broadway, Superintendent Mike Pearson announced at Monday’s school board meeting. One will be used for kindergarten students and the other one for a first-grade class.

When the new Central Valley and University high schools were built, the district had an agreement to secure state matching funds with the state that University Center could be used for preschool and adult programs, but not for basic K-12 students. University Center was the original U-Hi.

ECEAP is a state-funded preschool program for low-income families. Currently, there are 30 children in the ECEAP program and 29 children enrolled in the before- and after-school child-care program at Broadway.

The district will provide transportation for the ECEAP children; however parents with children in the child-care program will need to continue to provide their own transportation.

This year some of Broadway’s kindergarteners are being bused to the Central Valley Kindergarten Center, the former Barker Center at 1512 N. Barker Road.

Pearson has met with Eileen Utecht, principal at Broadway, and Karen Carter, director of the early childhood programs, and they are preparing for the moves.

As expected, preliminary numbers indicate the district’s enrollment will continue to increase next year, Pearson said.

“We’ve been meeting with every principal to look at classroom space. Next year we expect to have an additional two kindergarten classrooms at University Elementary – we simply need more space,” said Pearson.

This school year several programs were relocated within the district to utilize facilities and add classroom space to ease the district’s growing pains.

In November, a $75.75 million construction bond failed to get the necessary 60 percent voter approval. The bond would have fully funded two new schools and two modernized schools as well as provided indirect funding (through state reimbursement) for an additional remodeled school and upgrades to six additional schools.