Nearly 110 children are registered to begin the new 4-year-old kindergarten program this fall in the Black River Falls School District, but more are needed to keep the estimated out-of-funds cost of the program from increasing.

Jill Collins, manager of business services for the school district, said the program is anticipating an enrollment of 139 students. If enrollment sits where it is now, the estimated cost of the program coming out of the district's fund balance could increase by $58,000.

The original cost of the program figured into the 2008-2009 budget is $347,016. Right now, startup costs for the program are exceeding the revenue by almost $173,000. If the enrollment stays at 110 children, that number will jump to almost $232,000 out of the district's fund balance.

"That is the absolute worst-case scenario," Collin said, adding that less kids equals less revenue for the program, "but I'm optimistic more kids will enroll."

The board also approved adding a part-time teacher's aide position to the program due to the moving of one of the 4-year-old kindergarten sections to The Boys and Girls Club of Jackson County from Black River Childcare. The childcare center was originally supposed to accommodate two sections of the class, but now can only take one.

Collins said the adding of the part-time position will not affect the cost of the program. She said the district was paying for a contracted service by utilizing the childcare center for the section, and since that cost will no longer be necessary, the money will go toward the salary of the part-time position.

Members of the board said they felt it was necessary to add the part-time position to the existing full-time teaching position in an effort to make sure the teacher had adequate help to care for the 12 children in the section. "This first year, we need to be a little more flexible," Board President Don Mathews said.

Laser donation

The school board unanimously approved the acceptance of nearly $20,000 in gifts from local businesses that will be used to purchase a laser engraver for the middle school technology education program. Contributing towards the purchase were Regal-Beloit, Cummins Filtration and D & S Manufacturing. They contributed $1,000, $10,000 and $7,500 respectively, nearly covering the cost of the engraver.

The board also voted to eliminate the position of dean of students at Black River Falls Middle School to help decrease the budget. "If I wasn't confident in my staff and team leaders, I wouldn't make a recommendation like this if we couldn't make it work," Black River Falls Middle School Principal Dave Roou said.

The school board also reviewed the fifth draft of a survey that will be sent to all community members living within the district to receive feedback on district services and facilities and what can be done to improve these things. Board members expressed concern about the length of the seven-page survey. "The length does bother me, but how many more times will we get this opportunity?" Mathews said. The survey should be ready by November and a letter will be sent out, prompting community members to go to the website and complete the survey.