Full-Day Kindergarten Tuition: a Defacto Tax on Young Families

Braintree is one of only 18 school districts in Massachusetts to charge tuition for full-day kindergarten. This year, our tuition increased to $3715/year per student, with a reduced rate of $1858/year for low-income families.

According to the DESE website, the proportion of Massachusetts children enrolled in full-day kindergarten (FDK) increased from 29% in 2000 to 99.6% in 2023. Last year, Braintree’s FDK enrollment was only 87.3%, ranking us 310th out of 312 school districts in terms of the percentage of students enrolled in FDK. Even more egregious, only 71.6% of low-income students and 81.3% of English Language Learners were able to attend FDK. As a result, the two half-day kindergarten classes at Monatiquot are less diverse and have a greater proportion of students with high needs or who require English language support.

“Research demonstrates the benefits of full-day kindergarten, especially in addressing the disparities between low-income and higher-income children. It boosts children’s cognitive learning, creative problem-solving, and social competence. Universal access to publicly funded FDK is a missing half-step in the birth to 3rd-grade early learning continuum, limiting opportunities to develop and strengthen the foundational skills necessary for success in school and lifelong learning.” (Children’s Defense Fund, June 2014)

Tuition for full-day kindergarten is a de facto tax our young families pay. On top of mortgages, rent, after-school childcare, and student loan repayments, our kindergarten families are being asked to pay tuition for a service that is provided for free in 294 of the 312 school districts listed on the DESE website. An initial investment of about $1M is needed to provide tuition-free FDK for the first year. In subsequent years, the increase in Chapter 70 state aid would fully fund FDK at no additional cost to the Braintree taxpayers.

Braintree has missed funding opportunities. We did not apply for the Massachusetts Kindergarten Development Grants that were available from 2000 - 2016, and our American Rescue Plan (ARPA) money went into the town’s free cash account.

As a community, we need to fix this problem; ALL our children should have access to the benefits of full-day kindergarten. We cannot continue to ask our kindergarten families to foot the bill.

Kathy Tuffy
Braintree School Committee