The Pearland Board of Trustees voted to offer full-day pre-K sevices in the fall at the meeting on Dec. 17.

House Bill 3 requires all pre-K services for eligible four-year-old students become full-day services beginning with the start of the upcoming school year, if districts are unable to begin offering the services during the 2019-20 school year. Before making this decision, the district was required to see if it would be possible to start full day pre-K as early as the 2019-20 spring semester by partnering with a vendor or private school, Superintendent John Kelly said.

“We do not believe that the program could absorb the students or provide the level of education the state is requiring,” Kelly said. “My recommendation is that we continue to work towards full implementation in the fall.”

At the meeting, the board also approved the purchase of five portable facilities that will be used to accommodate the additional students, as implementation of the program required more facilities. The base cost of the portable facilities will be $343,965, and will be paid for out of the district’s general operating fund.

“We will not be putting pre-K students there, but moving older grade levels into those classrooms,” Kelly said.