Preston — Faced with an influx of preschool and kindergarten students, the Board of Education this week approved hiring a third kindergarten teacher and a third preschool teacher to split the grades into more manageable classes.

The new third preschool class also must have a paraeducator, Superintendent Roy Seitsinger said.

The school district hopes to use federal COVID-19 relief grant money to fund the estimated $63,000 for the kindergarten teacher. Reducing class sizes for better social distancing is an allowed grant use, Seitsinger said.

The $12.4 million school budget will have to cover the estimated $85,000 to $88,000 cost of the preschool teacher and paraeducator. The district expects an increase in revenue from $50,000 to $67,000 from fees parents pay for the program, Seitsinger said.

Recently released U.S. census data showed Preston had a 5% drop in the childhood population. But while last year, the Preston Veterans’ Memorial School had 24 preschool students split into two classes and 30 kindergarten students in two classes, the school had 41 preschool registrations, with possibly three more, and 46 kindergarten registrations thus far.

Seitsinger said registrations for these grades typically is “fluid” throughout the spring and summer as families decide whether and where to enroll their children and new families move into town. He said the privately run Play and Learn child care center in town is “maxed out.”

Last year’s enrollment could have been low due to the pandemic, with some parents deciding not to send their children to preschool, or opting to home-school preschool or kindergarten children. School officials used last year's numbers as a baseline in this year’s budget preparations, but registrations quickly swelled.

The board voted 5-1 Monday in favor of adding the new teachers and splitting the classes. Board member Dan Harris cast the lone dissenting vote. Harris said he supported the lower class sizes but was “disappointed” in several issues, including the last-minute request after the budget was settled. He questioned where the preschool funding would come from in the budget.

“I’m kind of disappointed we’re sitting here in the first place,” Harris said, “why we weren’t aware of these numbers six months ago.”

All board members apologized to parents caught in a paperwork error that left them on the preschool waiting list even though they registered in early spring.

Several parents complained to the board about the problem Monday, saying it put them in an anxious quandary over child care options.

Kimberly Tondreau said she registered her daughter for preschool in March, was told she was enrolled and later learned she was on a waiting list, because paperwork did not “roll over” into the online registrations.

“It’s not my fault the paperwork did not roll over,” she said. “My family shouldn’t have to deal with the town’s mistake.”

Parent Johanna Thibdeault said she registered her daughter in April and received a call last Tuesday that she was not enrolled. She said she was “just really frustrated” because her daughter needs social interactions after nearly 18 months of coronavirus pandemic isolation. Thibdeault also complained that her kindergarten daughter would be part of a “giant class” if the school board did not hire another teacher.

“It’s not fair on the kids, and it’s certainly not fair on the teachers,” Thibdeault said.

Seitsinger apologized for the snafu in preschool registrations and promised to correct the problem now and in the future. With the additional preschool teacher, the waiting list has been eliminated, he said.

Harris asked for a full report on the registration problem and the underestimated preschool and kindergarten numbers at a future board meeting.

“We need to put a process in place to let parents know by June,” board Chairman Sean Nugent said, “and as part of the process, we need to figure out how to manage late additions and whether to have a lockdown (on registrations) in June.”

c.bessette@theday.com