Most Marin County schools to offer transitional kindergarten this fall

Almost all Marin school districts are planning new transitional kindergarten programs — or expanding existing ones — this fall.

The state, which last year mandated universal TK for all 4-year-olds, is only financing the program for districts that are state-funded, or what is referred to as “local control funding formula” districts that offer per-student subsidies.

At least one school district, Larkspur-Corte Madera, has announced it will not offer the program in the fall due to financial constraints. School districts that are community funded from property tax revenues — such as Larkspur-Corte Madera — will receive no state subsidies for transitional kindergarten. Community funded districts are most often referred to as basic aid districts.

“While LCMSD sees the benefits of a TK program, the state is not offering the funding to support districts like ours who are barely in the basic aid funding model,” Brett Geithman, the superintendent, said in an email. “LCMSD will be unable to provide transitional kindergarten for the 2022-23 school year due to a lack of state funding for basic aid districts.”

Mary Jane Burke, Marin superintendent of schools, said the state’s $308 billion 2022 budget, approved last week, includes a financing windfall for Marin schools — especially those that are LCFF, or state-funded.

She had no immediate word on exactly how the state budget will affect basic aid districts, or whether it could affect the ability of Larkspur-Corte Madera, for example, to offer transitional kindergarten. More information is expected Aug. 15.

In the past, transitional kindergarten was limited in student population by a narrow age eligibility window. Previously, children who were 4, and who would not turn 5 — the eligibility age for kindergarten — until after the kindergarten cutoff date of Sept. 2, but before Dec. 2, were the only ones officially given access to the free public school classes.

For 2022-23, that eligibility window has been expanded two months, so from Sept. 2 to Feb. 2. It will expand another two months every year until 2025-26, when all 4-year-olds will be eligible.

Prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s universal TK mandate last year, some Marin districts — such as in Mill Valley and Miller Creek school districts — had eliminated transitional kindergarten. Administrators said at the time it was because TK only served a limited population, and yet demanded extra staffing that was not financed by the state.

Parents in those districts complained bitterly, saying that their children needed transitional kindergarten’s more professional pre-kindergarten preparation than what might be offered at a private preschool.

Now, both Miller Creek and Mill Valley have restored transitional kindergarten — even though both are basic aid districts and do not receive state financing.

“The Mill Valley School District will be offering universal transitional kindergarten,” Anna Russell, district spokesperson, said in an email.

“The district will utilize the general operating budget to support the UTK program,” she added.  “We know that early learning experiences are important for children.”

Similarly, Reed Union School District — another basic aid district — will offer transitional kindergarten in the fall, according to Kimberly McGrath, the superintendent.

“Reed Union School District is offering two universal PreK classes in the fall,” McGrath said in an email. “Both classes will be held at Reed Elementary” in Tiburon. The district also includes Belvedere and parts of East Corte Madera.

“Each class will have a PreK credentialed teacher and an instructional aide,” McGrath said. “Without additional state funding, we are paying for the state mandate and the related expenses out of our general fund.”

Other Marin basic aid school districts — including Shoreline Unified, Lagunitas, Bolinas-Stinson Union and Sausalito Marin City — are either dipping into their general fund coffers, or are combining TK with kindergarten or preschool classes.

At Shoreline Unified School District in West Marin, the district will be administering a transitional kindergarten program at all of its elementary school sites, said Alice Enochs, a Shoreline administrator.

“The TK program will be half-day and combined with a half-day California State Preschool Program, which will bring in funding to help offset the cost of adding the additional grade level,”  Enochs said in an email.

“SUSD has offered TK in previous years, and combined the TK children with the kindergarten class,” Enochs said.  “This was feasible because there were only a few TK eligible children each year.”

As the age eligibility for transitional kindergarten expands — and eventually encompasses an entire grade level — “it becomes necessary to create a new plan moving forward, ” Enochs said. She said TK will likely be combined with the preschool program if that happens.

In the Bolinas-Stinson Union and Lagunitas School districts, plans are already in place, said John Carroll, superintendent of both districts.

“Bolinas has been offering a preschool program since 2017 that includes TK,” said Carroll, who will transition to Marin’s superintendent of schools in January.

“We’re already compliant with the new requirement and ahead of schedule by three years,” he said. “It is paid for by the district’s general fund.”

In Lagunitas, the district is offering TK in a combination class with kindergarten, Carroll said.

“Our numbers are very small for TK in the coming year — so far, only one TK student,” he said. “It is also paid for by the district’s general fund.”

Similarly, Sausalito Marin City School District’s unified school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, will combine its transitional kindergarten program with the kindergarten class at the Nevada Street campus in Sausalito in the fall, according to Itoco Garcia, the district superintendent.

Meanwhile, at Marin’s LCFF districts, TK is exploding in advance of expected increases in state financing.

“We are expanding our TK program from three classes last year to eight classes this year,” Jim Hogeboom, superintendent of the San Rafael City Schools’ elementary district, said in an email. “(That’s) one at every elementary school and two at Venetia Valley.”

Hogeboom said San Rafael elementary schools could receive even more state financing going forward.

“We are still hoping that we will get some facilities money as we plan to eventually have over 20 TK classes,” Hogeboom said. “Our current enrollment for next year for TK is about 170 students.”

Novato Unified School District, another LCFF state-funded district, is also expanding TK, according to its website. The district offers transitional kindergarten at each of its elementary school campuses.