PITTSFIELD – SAD 53 board members Monday decried new legislation that could cost them more than $133,500 a year in transportation costs for their highly successful pre-kindergarten program.

The Maine Department of Education told SAD 53 and 31 other districts that they must come up with a plan by next spring for transporting the children if they want to continue offering the program. But it could cost the combined 32 districts millions of dollars more to provide that transportation.

Those school districts now have parents bring their children to school and do not provide a bus. The added expenses for providing transportation to the young children could involve retrofitting buses to include booster seats, adding seat belts, and increasing personnel to put educational technicians on each bus run as safety monitors.

The transportation requirement was enacted into law last spring but it is just coming to the forefront now, when districts are in the budgeting process.

“It is ridiculous to demand we do something and not provide funding,” SAD 53 Chairman Robert Downs said. “Especially since the state cut our transportation funds.”

Elementary principal Faye Anderson said, “This flies in the face of what we know is right for 4-year-old children.”

Anderson said that in SAD 53, the pre-kindergarten program is school-sponsored. If the program were to be turned back to Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, only 16 of the 49 pupils would qualify. KVCAP has strict income eligibility requirements.

“This legislation is not fair to communities that are committed to meeting the needs of all 4-year-olds,” Anderson said.

In an interview last week, Janine Blatt, an early childhood consultant with the Maine Department of Education, told the Bangor Daily News that the confusion came because offering the program is voluntary by schools and participation by parents is voluntary.

“Many schools interpreted that transportation was also voluntary,” she said.

SADs 53 (Pittsfield area), SAD 59 (Madison area) and SAD 48 (Newport area) were included in those noncompliant schools.

In SAD 53, when the Cyr Bus transportation contract was negotiated three years ago, Superintendent Michael Gallagher requested a cost quote for adding a daily pre-k bus run.

“It was astronomical,” he said. It would have cost an additional $133,500 this year, Gallagher said, which included the cost of a monitor.

The board passed the issue to the Transportation Committee for review.

Also Monday night, the board:

. Discussed plans and strategies for increasing math competence at both the elementary and middle school levels.

. Hired a social worker, Barbara Frank, who will be based at Warsaw Middle School and is expected to bring in extra Medicare reimbursements to the district to cover her salary.

. Heard from Maine Central Institute’s Headmaster Chris Hopkins that the school is embarking on a new, long-range strategic planning process, and has also set up three new task forces. They will deal with establishing a formal international student program to allow the school to be more competitive with other town academies; review the entire school curriculum; and find ways to better the day and boarding populations’ relationship.