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After the Bangor School District voted to start a 4-year-old kindergarten program next fall, the school had only about two weeks to put together an application for a 4K startup grant. Last month, when the list of schools receiving the grant was released by the state’s Department of Public Instruction, Bangor was not on the list.

According to Superintendent Roger Foegen, however, the DPI has agreed to give the district a little extra time to make its case.

“The criteria on the grant was that you needed to show a collaborative community approach to 4K. In larger districts that’s easy to do because you’ve got plenty of licensed daycare providers,” Foegen said. “In addition, a big district might have six 4K teachers and it’s relatively easy to send one out into the community. For us, the only agencies that we can coordinate with are Head Start and Family Resources.”

Foegen and elementary Principal Lois Meinking recently met with Head Start representatives to do just that and, according to both, the meeting went well.

“It’s taking longer than I thought to pull it all together, but after our meeting with Head Start, I’m pretty confident (about the chances of qualifying for a grant),” Foegen said.

Meanwhile, Meinking was heartened by the possibility of further cooperation with Head Start. Even if the district does not get the grant, she sees a lot of value working with Head Start.

“I have a lot of of hope. It looks like we can have a true collaboration with Head Start,” Meinking said. “It’s a way to better serve the parents and the kids in the district, so I’m excited. Right now, some parents take their kids all the way to Sparta or La Crosse.

“The few families I’ve talked to about this are also excited about the possibilities of partnering with Head Start, plus we are going to be collaborating with Family Resources as well,” Meinking said.

Meinking added that “some schools do this (apply for the grant) just for the money, but we’re looking at the best way to serve children.”

The amount of money involved in the grant would be $720 per child. Meinking said the grant had been written anticipating that between 35 and 40 kids would take part in 4K, so the maximum benefit to the district would be a bit under $30,000.

Foegen had previously told the school board that the practical effect of not getting the grant would probably be that the district would have to delay the purchase of a new bus for another year. “The last time we bought a bus, I think the price was running between $85,000 and $90,000,” Meinking said.