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Colton-Pierrepont Central’s $10.61 million budget includes first steps toward early literacy program

Posted 4/20/18

By CRAIG FREILICH COLTON – The Colton-Pierrepont Central School Board of Education has approved a budget of $10.61 million for the next year, which represents no increase in spending over the …

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Colton-Pierrepont Central’s $10.61 million budget includes first steps toward early literacy program

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH

COLTON – The Colton-Pierrepont Central School Board of Education has approved a budget of $10.61 million for the next year, which represents no increase in spending over the budget approved last year.

It adds one full-time salary for a staff member to design a literacy program for the youngest kids who can most benefit from an early boost.

The tax levy has increased by 1.7 percent, according to Superintendent Joseph Kardash. That amount is low enough to be under the state-mandated property tax cap, Kardash said.

Public voting on the budget is set for Tuesday, May 15 from noon to 8 p.m. in the school auditorium lobby.

Two people are on the ballot as school board candidates.

Alex Bonno is running for a seat being vacated by Jeff Angleberger.

Cindy McLean is running as an incumbent board member.

A unique feature of the spending plan is a salary for one full-time social worker to study implementation of an early childhood literacy program for the youngest kids, “zero to 3 years old,” Kardash said.

That person will “explore an early literacy play-based program” for “pre- pre-K – younger than pre-K -- to 3-year-olds.”

The plan at this point is to devise a program to reach out to children most in need and spend an hour to an hour and a half a day building a foundation of literacy in those kids.

“We think investing in younger kids and getting them used to words with play-based learning activities will help to level the playing field as they enter school,” Kardash said.

While the initial effort will be to design the program, “we do plan to implement it,” he said.