By KAITLYN NAPLES STAFF WRITER While it is unclear whether the Board of Education will see the budget increase it is requesting, Superintendent of Schools Ellen Solek passionately expressed how “crucial” it is that Bristol implement a full-day kindergarten program. The school board is requesting a 4.96 percent increase over its current allocated budget, totaling a little under $109.5 million. In addition to that, the board is requesting $1,899,392 for the first year’s rollout of full-day kindergarten. “I know it is hard to separate the financial needs and what is the right thing to do,” Solek said to the Board of Finance last Thursday evening, “but this is the right thing to do.” She expressed how important it is to keep the students of Bristol competitive and at the same level, if not better, than districts across the state. She also said 77 percent of districts across Connecticut have a full-day kindergarten program, including Southington and Plainville. “I cannot advocate for this program strongly enough,” she added. Right now, Solek said, the kindergarten students get the equivalent of two-and-a-half hours of actual instruction. “we need that six hours of instruction,” so the students can have a higher achievement level as [...]
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