Shelter Island community comes together to seek methods to sustain Pre-K program 

As promised once the community approved the revised 2025-26 school year budget, the first of what will be a series of meetings got underway Monday afternoon to begin an exploration of whether there is a way to provide parents of young children with a full day of Pre-K classes. 

Much of the initial meeting was devoted to attendees identifying reasons for wanting to be involved in finding a means of resurrecting the program and what they could bring to the process.

Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D., School Nurse Mary Kanarvogel, who has worked with the school administration on many issues, and Board of Education President Kathleen Lynch, were present.

Amanda Bartilucci, vice president of the Board of the private Shelter Island Early Childhood Learning Center, and Board member Elizabeth Eklund, along with Shelter Island Presbyterian Church representative Ellen Gove, will discuss whether the church could house an expanded Pre-K program if financing and regulations are in line. Town Health and Wellness Committee Co-Chair Nancy Green and committee member Bonnie Berman Stockwell are also focused on community needs. 

Police Chief Jim Read, wearing his Lions Club hat, explained how the organization could help. Elizabeth Hanley, a candidate for Town Board who is currently chairwoman of the Community Housing Board, said her financial background could help with identifying sources of funding that might work within the legal structure of existing State laws.

Alexandra Binder, who operates a home-based program that’s not an educational organization, said she could fill a gap for some children with hours and costs worked out that could be combined with another program to fill gaps between sessions.

Father Peter DeSanctis of Our Lady of the Isle said he wasn’t sure what his role might be, but he could certainly add spiritual support to the effort. Several parents expressed the urgency for a program to meet their children’s educational needs.

Much of the attention was focused on organizing the group and seeking additional information to provide a program, even if it’s only a stop-gap for a year until the public could again fund its Pre-K program, perhaps as a partner with the private Pre-K program.

The group will initially have a subcommittee to report to the whole group.

Before the public school had to cut $150,000 from its budget to reduce its spending so it falls within the State-imposed tax cap, the private Pre-K program had a morning session lasting up to 2 hours and 59 minutes at the church facilities. The teachers in that program would then walk those children whose parents wished them to have a longer program across the street to the public school to continue their classes. With the private program limited in hours, and an absence of the public school to fill the void, both programs are threatened, the group agreed. 

Pre-K programs on the North and South forks would likely be too expensive for most parents, some of whom said the Early Learning Center already costs $500 a month. The Early Childhood Learning Center program currently had enough money to keep its half-day program alive for the next school year. To extend the program to a full day in September, it would take the formation of another organization to get certified to offer the program at different hours that the Early Learning Center covers.

Mr. Doelger said restrictions the public school has prohibit outside funding earmarked for a Pre-K program. The reasoning from Albany is related to concerns that outside donors might impose provisions not meeting State standards. If outside money could be raised, it would have to go to the private school and then a program extended in some way to more students with the possibility that scholarships could be used to lessen the $500 per month cost supporting the private Pre-K program.

There was also discussion that instead of funding a program directly, contributions could be used to offset tuition costs for families enrolling their children in a Pre-K program. Scholarships would have to go to all children, Ms. Bartilucci said.

Clearly, there’s a lot of work to be accomplished in a relatively short time if a solution is to be found to enable a program to emerge by September.

Anyone interested in getting involved with this group can reach Ms. Lynch at [email protected].