TK vs. E10
Background
The new Transitional Kindergarten Expansion law, AB130, passed last year placing new requirements on California school districts
Universalizes access to TK for all four-year-olds in the state
4 year implementation, increasing eligibility by two months each year
Requires one teacher for every 12 students beginning in 2022-23 with intent to achieve 10:1 ratios if funded by CDE
AB130 Compliance
To meet the needs of AB130, the latest Facility Master Plan (FMP) developed work scopes to add TK classrooms at all 9 elementary schools. The quantity of new TK classrooms (3-5 per school) was developed using enrollment figures obtained from the annual demographic reports. The new TK classrooms have been included in Measure I with an allocation of $40.6M in Tier-1 funding.
TK vs E10
The increase in TK students reaches the maximum enrollment requirements in the 2025-26 school year. By then, the demographic reports show that PUSD will need to place an additional 580 more TK students. (see chart below ) These students will be distributed across Pleasanton so it makes sense that each local school to be expanded to accept their new respective TK students.
It has been suggested that E10 should be built in lieu of adding TK capacity to the elementary schools. As compliance with State regulations, such as AB130, is not optional the TK classrooms must be built to meet the anticipated demand. The State does provide a grant program to support their mandate, but priority is given to low income districts. In Pleasanton our allocation is $206,864, which is less than 1% of the estimated $40.6M cost.
Building TK classrooms is expensive because these facilities have additional requirements. Among these are the need for self-contained restrooms and specialized play yards. These requirements often make simple retrofits of regular classroom not feasible.
If Measure I does not pass, 580 TK students will have nowhere to go. If E10 is built, it could handle 60 of the 580 TK students who will start showing up in full force by 2025.
The next opportunity for a bond measure to raise the $40.6M to build up TK capacity will be in 2024. Taking into account the time needed for bond issuance, development and construction, TK capacity will likely not be completed until 2028.
