The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Trustees consider additional preschool

By Katherine Petersen

The Sunnyvale Elementary School District says it needs an additional facility to serve preschool and special education students.

The board of education is leaning in the direction of approving a new four-classroom site on the Cherry Chase campus, but won't make a final decision until June.

Interim Superintendent Ben Picard estimated the cost of the new center's construction at $463,000. The district would recoup some of the cost, since a new facility would eliminate the need to bus some of its special education students to programs in other districts. The district pays $1,300 per student each year to transport them to neighboring special education programs.

The Cherry Chase site would serve about 100 children in state preschool and special education classes, said Don Jolly, the district's director of special education and pupil personnel. State preschool classes are available to low-income students.

The facility would have one state preschool class and one special education class run by the district. Two other classes--one a special education class for students with more severe needs and one for infants and children up to age 3 with special needs--would be run by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, which would pay rent.

It will be similar to thepreschool center at Columbia, which is already at capacity and has a waiting list of 50 students for the state preschool.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 28, 1997.
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