BPS Denied Preschool Grant

Bernalillo parents will no longer have the option of free, full-day preschool for their children next year.

Mathematical errors, unclear and incomplete information and a missing signature contained in a pre-K grant application to the New Mexico Public Education Department contributed to a low score that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for Bernalillo Public Schools. The district was not chosen to receive the competitive pre-K grant, which allows school districts to offer free preschool programs for regular education students. The federal government funds preschool for special education students.

Interim Superintendent Allan Tapia said the district will no longer be able to offer full-day programs and instead have to switch to a half-day model to serve the same number of students. Tapia said nobody will lose their job, and teachers have been transferred to other elementary schools in the district.

Larry Behrens, spokesman for the state Public Education Department, said the application lacked detailed information and that some information was incomplete and/or not clear. He said there were also mathematical errors, as well as a missing signature from a principal who was going to oversee one of the district’s preschool programs.

“These things have a dollar amount attached to them,” he said. “So, we are looking for a clear picture.”

The PED sent the district a letter dated June 24 informing it that the grant application was not approved.

Behrens said of 29 districts that applied, 12 were awarded the grant. Bernalillo received a score of 77. The lowest score earned for a district that did receive funding was 105.

In 2010, BPS received a $446,140 pre-K grant and in 2009 got $544,160.

Last year, the district served 114 regular education preschool students in six classes at La Escuelita Early Childhood Center in Bernalillo. Tapia said in the coming year, the district will be able to serve 108 regular education preschool students from Bernalillo.

There will be two half-day classes at La Escuelita that serve 40 regular education students. There will also be six half-day inclusion classes there that can serve up to 48 regular education students. In addition, the program at Algodones can take up to 20 Bernalillo preschool students.

Because there are only half-day programs, the district’s fairly new, $5 million La Escuelita school building will sit half-empty. Five of the building’s 11 classrooms will be vacant next year. The school was opened in August 2009.

The grant application was written by Tricia Steiner, BPS’ executive director of secondary education, but she did not write the application the previous two years. Steiner has been on the job since last summer. She replaced Anna Torres, whose firing set off a rash of protests from teachers and parents involved with the district’s preschool programs.

Steiner said the process was new for her, and she sought help within the district.

“Getting the support I needed at the time was difficult,” Steiner said. “Getting questions answered and guidance was not easy.”

Tapia said the district plans to reapply for the grant next year, but will have a different approach.

“In the past, the early childhood teachers wrote the grant together along with the director,” he said. “That did not happen this year. There will be a collective effort in writing future grants.”

Tapia, who became the interim superintendent in May, said he was very surprised the application was not funded.

“Early childhood education is important to myself and the district,” Tapia said. “We are going to serve as many children as we can.”