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STAMFORD, Conn. The growing number of students who qualify for special education has Stamford Public Schools looking for space to add several preschool classrooms for the upcoming year.
Were full. There is nowhere else to put kids, said R. Wayne Holland, director of special education services for the district. He spoke at the Board of Educations Fiscal Committee meeting Tuesday.
Currently, there are 88 seats between the preschool program at Westover Magnet Elementary School and Stillmeadow Elementary School, he said. A total of 24 kids will move on to kindergarten next year, 21 seats are already filled for the upcoming school year and many more requests coming in for review, he said.
The district has begun looking for solutions for September. Al Barbarotta, director of facilities management for the schools, is looking into open classroom space in the city, and Interim Assistant Superintendent Louise Spolowitz is evaluating each school for classroom space.
We have to think outside the box, Interim Superintendent Winifred Hamilton said.
The issue came up at the meeting because the board discussed the $550,000 it has in contingency funds. The Board of Finance cut the amount from its spending plan for next year that would not be needed for medical insurance in April.
The meeting ended with the board asking school officials to come up with both short- and long-term plans for the preschool program.
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