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The Tomah School District’s Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Ad Hoc Committee is winding down with the first phase of its tasks, committee co-chair Rick Murray told the School Board Thursday.

The School Board heard a report from Murray and other members of the 4-year-old Kindergarten Committee on the committee’s progress. The board also voted to accept the recommendation of the committee to proceed to Phase II of the project.

The committee met five times with the Phase I task of examining research regarding 4-year-old kindergarten and examining models and operations of community based 4-year-old kindergarten programs. Other tasks included evaluating the advantages and disadvantages for the Tomah Area School District, as well as making a preliminary recommendation to the school board.

“We are not quite at Phase II yet, but we are winding down on Phase I,” Murray told the board. “We feel that we need to look at a community-wide program.”

During Phase I of the ad hoc committee’s investigation into possibilities and options for 4-year-old kindergarten, a survey was given to 110 parents at Child Development Days. Eight-five of the parents who filled out the surveys returned them, and 41 responded that they would enroll their children regardless if the program were offered in the morning or afternoon. Nineteen said they would enroll if the kindergarten were in the morning, and two said they would enroll if the program were in the afternoon. Only six parents answered “no” about enrolling their children. Twelve were undecided, and five left the question blank.

The committee has also met with several day care providers, and visited 4-year-old kindergarten programs in Holmen, La Crosse and Eau Claire.

“We saw a lot of different choices out there,” Murray said. “We will have some choices of our own to make.”

The committee reported that after extensive research and evaluation, it believes that 4-year-old kindergarten will have a significant positive impact upon children of the Tomah School District. The school board voted 5-0 in favor of accepting the committee’s recommendations Thursday. The committee will now move on to develop and implement a program for a comprehensive 4-year-old educational program.

Other items addressed Thursday by the board were:

* The continuation of open campus at Tomah High School. The board voted unanimously to keep open campus after a school year with very few complaints from the public. The policy allows high school students to leave campus during the lunch break.

* The resignation of Tomah High School Band Director Ryan Waldhart was accepted. Waldhart was also the Instrumental Jazz Director, Marching and Pep Band Director, and Musical Pit Orchestra Conductor.

* The approval of a new teacher at the kindergarten level, and a split first and second grade class at LaGrange Elementary School. Superintendent Bob Fasbender said that with the number of students in the first grade section, it was thought that a teacher could be eliminated last month. There will now be a first and second grade combination, without a reduction in staff.

* New members were named to the Activities Review Committee. Dan Wall and Keri Rasmussen will replace District Advisor representatives Alyssa Weaver and Ryan Waldhart. Joe Berry will replace Steve Kikta as the committee’s youth sports representative, and Greg Steinmetz will replace Tim Liddane as a citizen’s representative. Other committee members are school board members Pam Buchda and Gary Grovesteen, Deb Buswell as an alternate board member representative, Tomah High School Principal Marlon Mee as the committee administrator, coaches Tonya Gnewikow and Brad Plueger, youth sports representative Sue Playter-Mubarak, and citizen’s representative Connie Haines.

* The approval for the School District to participate in the 2008 Wisconsin School Districts Cash-Flow Management Program, the borrowing of funds for the 2008-2009 School year and the issuance and sale of one or more series of tax and revenue anticipation promissory notes. The total amount to be borrowed is not yet known. Fasbender believes that School District Business Manager Greg Gaarder will have borrowing amounts for the board in August. The borrowing is necessary cover shortfalls created by the schedule of state aid payments.

* The graduation date for the Tomah High School Class of 2009 was set for June 12, 2009. The final day of classes for seniors was also set for June 5.