TUSD will be investing more than $8 million in its preschool programs in the next year, after it received two grants from the state Department of Economic Security.
One of the grants, worth $2.3 million, will be used to remodel all preschool classrooms throughout Tucson Unified School District and buy new playground structures and shades. The second grant, a total of $6.3 million, will be invested in preschool employees.
โIt lets our employees know they are valued because we see their commitment and passion daily,โ Reem Kievit, the districtโs director of community schools and preschool programs, said during the districtโs Sept. 20 board meeting.
โThe classroom makeover will provide high quality care and instruction to our students, letting our families know we care about our students, as well as, our teachers.โ
The challenge with the $2.3 million grant will be spending it by the Sept. 30, 2023 deadline, due to issues like vendor availability and supplies .
Eliana Gutierrez, 3, left, and classmate Elliana Tovar, 3, water plants during preschool outdoor play time at Tully Magnet Elementary School on Tuesday.
For example, she said, other sites in the district are using their federal COVID-19 relief funding to work on similar playground renovations .
โFinding somebody that our district can use and that can handle these big projects, thereโs just been a lot of barriers, but weโre working on it and Iโm sure weโll figure it out,โ Kievit said.
The $6.3 million grant is strictly meant to be invested in the districtโs preschool employees, she said. The proposal presented to the board included a plan for spending about half, or $3.1 million of the funds.
That plan includes providing retention stipends for all preschool employees, ranging from $4,050 to $8,100, likely to be distributed over three semesters.
Board member Ravi Shah noted that those stipends would be stacked on top of the $2,500 stipends that the board had previously approved to pay TUSD employees during the fall and spring semesters this year.
Shah and board member Adelita Grijalva both hoped that the increase in compensation would be a bigger incentive to attract more employees to the preschool programs.
โJust in terms of financially, hopefully this really helps,โ Shah said of attracting new hires. โAnd making sure that weโre valuing the people working in this really difficult field.โ
Preschool teacher Janet Varela, right, reads โGood Night Gorillaโ to Guillermo Martinez, 4, during outdoor play time at Tully Magnet Elementary School on Tuesday.
Other costs covered by the grant will include funding for free after-school care programs, tuition reimbursement for employees who want to go back to school, help with payroll and benefits, professional development opportunities and the addition of three new Child Find positions.
Child Find employees work to identify and evaluate children within the district who have disabilities.
And noting that new hires often face several expenses to fulfill all requirements to become preschool employees, Kievit said the grant will also be used to help cover some of those costs such as TB tests and CPR/first aid certifications.
Plans for the remainder of the grant, or about $3.2 million, will be presented to the governing board later this year.
