Bayfield school officials were talking earlier this year about a district-operated pre-school to fill unmet need. But that's been put on the back burner because of all the other things district officials are dealing with now, Superintendent Troy Zabel said last week.

Those are the efforts to get voter approval for a school construction bond issue this fall, and negotiations with the town on what the district will have to do as part of annexing 40 acres for a new school. The district hopes to build a new school for grades 3-5 on the 40 acres south of the mid school, and do extensive renovations and additions at the elementary school for grades K-2.

Zabel told the school board back in March, "There's a definite segment of our population that we are unable to serve. Carol's program is maxxed out. It's full," he said, referring to the non-profit Bayfield Early Education Program pre-school and director Carol Blatnick, who also is on the school board. "The discussion was that in two or three years, if we get this bond passed, that we would have space for a district pre-school."

Zabel continued, "Can we start with a single classroom before we move into a full program? We have a classroom at (the primary school on South Street) that we built, that we may be able to use. We're exploring the possibility for next year."

He added, "I don't want to be in competition with Carol's program, including the teacher salaries. We want them to complement each other, and we have to be able to pay for it. This is just the start of conversation."

Finance Director Amy Lyons said at that meeting, "There's a pretty substantial population of kids coming into kindergarten without pre-school. Maybe half," meaning around 60.

Zabel said some of those kids might be in pre-school in Ignacio or Durango, "but a substantial amount aren't getting pre-school services."

The district pre-school would charge tuition, he said, and state and federal funding could cover kids from low income families.

Lyons said, "To break even with six (low income) positions and six paid, we would make enough to cover the cost of two teachers."

Blatnick commented, "We eventually need to do it. I think next year is too short." Then came the sticky issue. "Why put little kids back into the building that we're trying to get them out of?" she asked.

The district plan to build the new school and renovate BES is based on the need to get kindergarteners and first graders out of the old primary school. The district stopped using it for classes back in the late 1990s, but started moving kids back in in the mid 2000s because of enrollment growth.

Zabel said it would be the modular classrooms that were added as enrollment growth continued. That would be for the full program. There are two modulars with a total four classrooms. "They are quality classrooms," he said. "We never thought we would put (pre-schoolers) back into the (old) facility."

He said, "I have no doubt that if we had the space, we could do two or three classrooms now, 30 kids easily."