Most Ridgewood Parents Would Pay For Full-Day Kindergarten, Survey Shows

RIDGEWOOD, NJ – The results of a survey show that the overwhelming majority of parents want full-day kindergarten implemented in the district.

An exploratory committee presented the possibility of implementing full-day kindergarten at a meeting last week.

The committee began looking into alternate ways of implementing full-day kindergarten, including raising taxes or offering a tuition-based program, because the district does not have the funds to implement it.

Full-day kindergarten would cost nearly $930,000 in its first year.

The majority of survey respondents, 73, were in favor of implementing full-day kindergarten. More than 71 percent said they used a supplemental program to complement their children’s current half-day kindergarten instruction.

More than half of respondents, 57 of people would support raising taxes to fund full-kindergarten.

District officials have said that funding tuition is done outside of the district’s budget and making getting additional assistance from taxpayers possible.

Superintendent Daniel Fishbein will examine all of the information and recommend how the district should proceed. The board is scheduled to vote on Fishbein’s recommendation March 7.