SAUGUS — The Saugus School Committee has voted unanimously to provide $53,464 in tuition rebates to families of preschool and full-day kindergarten students.
Parents and guardians of children enrolled in these programs are now eligible to receive half of their last tuition payment, although the specific amount distributed to each household will vary depending on several factors, including the number of days each week a child is enrolled in a program.
The decision came Thursday after board members said they’d heard of mounting concern from Saugus families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of parents are financially struggling,” said School Committee vice chair Ryan Fisher. “Many were questioning (if) there could be a break (in payments) because of the circumstances.”
As the father of a preschool-age daughter, Fisher acknowledged the difficulties of educating very young children at home, adding that the attention span of children that age often doesn’t allow for the same quality of online learning older students may receive.
“Ninety minutes a week is all you can really get out of them,” he said.
Although multiple board members said they were happy to provide families with some form of financial relief during the public health crisis, they also acknowledged the strain rebates would put on the district’s budget.
According to Pola Andrews, the district’s executive director of finance, tuition fees help cover between 67 to 75 percent of pre-k and full-day kindergarten teacher salaries. Most of those teachers have remained employed by the district, educating their young students via remote learning platforms.
“There will be a financial impact,” she said, later adding that the cost for this school year will “probably be more.”
“We rely on those fees to support the teacher and teaching assistant salaries.”
In total, 156 households — 116 full-day kindergarten and 50 preschool — can expect to see their rebates in the coming months, and Andrews emphasized that anybody who has already made their payment in full will receive some form of refund.
“We’re very aware of that and we will be giving them their money back,” she said. She added that the district is more than happy to work with parents struggling to make the remaining payments, but that the payments will still need to be made.
“For those families who cannot make payments, we will work with them in whatever capacity is financially reasonable for that family, but the debt does not resolve if they cannot make payments.”
Committee chair Tom Whittredge later said he was pleased with the board’s decision.
“Not a lot of districts are doing it, but for us it’s a goodwill thing for parents,” he said. “It’s a tough time for everybody. We just want to be sure that we can help them get through a little bit without breaking the entire district.”
