A mother whose son is in the pre-kindergarten program in Northampton Area School District has questioned why the district doesn’t provide busing for students to the program.

Angela Dudley, of Walnutport, said that an I-U 20 bus, traveling from Bethlehem Area School District, provides transportation one day per week for her son, Jayden, to the pre-K program at George Wolf Elementary School, Bath.

“My son needs to be ready for kindergarten. At two-and-a-half hours per week, it’s not going to happen,” Dudley told the NASD Board of Education and school administrators at the Sept. 11 meeting.

Dudley said she has other children, including a daughter, Bria, in second grade at Lehigh Elementary School, and cannot transport them in time for school.

“I had to decide who was going to get educated. My son is going to fall between the cracks. I can teach him every day, and I do,” she said, emphasizing, however, that her son does better in a classroom education setting. “Just that interaction made the biggest difference.”

“In Pennsylvania, we’re not required to have pre-K transportation,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kovalchik said, adding NASD began its pre-K program six years ago, utlizing a five-year Keystones to Opportunity program grant. “The thing that wasn’t included (in the grant) was transportation.

“That was a decision we made as a whole,” Kovalchik said, referring to the board’s and administration’s decision to not provide pre-K transportation.

Two pre-K classes are provided at George Wolf Elementary. A third class begins Nov. 1 at Moore Elementary School.

Director Chuck Longacre asked if the Moore program would work better for the family.

“Moore would be awesome. It’s five minutes from us,” said Dudley’s significant other, Rob Everett.

Dr. Kathleen E. Ott, NASD director of data, grants and special programs, said she would work with Dudley on possibly enrolling her son at Moore.

“I’ve also put together car pools,” Ott added.

“I’m with you,” Kovalchik said to Dudley of her concerns about a lack of transportation for pre-K students.

“It’s a topic that needs to be discussed. The board is exploring offering pre-K throughout the district. We’re hoping to get more funding for pre-K.”

NASD has provided full-day kindergarten for 14 years.

At the Sept. 11 meeting, NASD school directors voted 9-0 to approve:

• Athletic coaching staff members and stipends for the 2017-18 school year: Travis Hartzell, assistant boys volleyball coach, $1,500; and Patrick Miller, assistant football coach, $3,944

• The resignation of Colotta Knittle, cafeteria monitor, effective June 2

• Professional teaching staff employees as potential homebound instructors, retroactive to Aug. 28 through the 2017-18 school year, at the following hourly rate: with bachelor’s degree, $45.69, and with master’s degree, $50.15.

• For the 2017-18 school year: additions and deletions to the substitute listing, revised master district volunteer list, revised listing of traffic duty monitors and hourly rates, effective Aug. 28; athletic event staff, effective Aug. 1; individuals to oversee intramural programs and the weight rooms, effective Aug. 1; after-school detention monitors and their reimbursement; and instructional assistants who have teaching certificates as substitute teachers

• Adoption of revised policies regarding enrollment of students and attendance and the deletion of the policy regarding habitually truant students, all effective Sept. 12

• D’Huy Engineering, Inc. contract for engineering services for a retainer fee of $21,600 per year