Hillsborough School Board Pauses Work On Implementing Full-Day Kindergarten

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The Hillsborough school board on Monday voted to temporarily pause work on implementing full-day kindergarten in the district.

In a 7-2 vote, the board tabled an $ 80,000 proposal by LAN Associates that included various classroom renovations to support the implementation of full-day kindergarten at schools throughout the district.

The board also voted to move forward with soliciting bids for a redistricting study that would look at district demographics and determine how many classrooms are needed for the project.

Before the vote, some board members expressed concern that the redistricting study could change the work that needs to be done and affect LAN's proposal.

"I'm very much in favor of full-day kindergarten and I would like to see it happen sooner than later," Board Vice President Cynthia Nurse said at Monday's meeting. "But I'm also very much opposed to frivolously spending money. If we're not 100 percent sure we need six buildings ready for full-day kindergarten, I do not think we should be spending $80,000."

According to LAN's proposal, architects did a walkthrough at six elementary schools and identified classrooms needed to support full-day kindergarten. Architects also included multiple utility improvements needed to ensure classrooms met state and federal requirements.

Before voting, board member Jean Trujillo said approving LAN's proposal would be premature until the redistricting study is complete and the board knows what's needed to implement full-day kindergarten.

The Hillsborough school board's next meeting will be held Aug. 19.