Each time Coco Peri’s car rounds the bend on Highway 1 and the Stinson Beach School comes into view, her 2-year-old son, Nico, presses his face to the glass and asks, “Am I going there?”
At last Thursday’s school board meeting, Ms. Peri, a Stinson Beach resident, posed the same question to district officials. “Can I tell him yes?” she asked. “Is this happening in August?”
The answer, at last, was yes.
After months of handwringing and consternation among parents, teachers and community members over the fate of the district’s free public preschool, the board elected to keep the program under a new sliding-scale model—at least for another year—while it works to develop a more sustainable solution.
“I just appreciate that a middle path was possible,” board member Jacob Tonski said. “I appreciate all the creativity in getting here and want to acknowledge the anxiety and grief [this process stirred] in the community.”
In March, the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District took preliminary steps toward eliminating the preschool, issuing layoff notices to its two teachers after Superintendent Leo Kostelnik warned of a looming budget shortfall. A three-year projection showed rising costs—operating expenses increase by about 5 percent annually—while property tax revenue, responsible for 77 percent of the district’s general fund, was expected to lag.
“I am pleading with the board to give us the gift of more time,” Omar Rifkin, one of the preschool teachers, said in April. “At the last meeting, one of the board members said, ‘We’re not trying to pull a fast one.’ But I would argue that this is the definition of pulling a fast one—not because it’s undercover, but because it’s not giving enough time to make an educated and intentional decision, one that will have consequences for generations to come.”
The layoff notices have since been rescinded, but Mr. Kostelnik emphasized that maintaining the status quo is not a viable solution. By the 2026–27 school year, the district hopes to expand its programming by offering a full day—nine hours a day, for more than 180 days a year—for 2- and 3-year-olds. The current preschool offers a five-and-a-half-hour day for 3- and 4-year-olds.
In line with California’s expanded transitional kindergarten guidelines, children who turn 4 by Sept. 1 will now be eligible for T.K. The district began shifting 4-year-olds into the kindergarten classroom this year, creating a two-year bridge to first grade.
Mr. Kostelnik outlined three models under consideration for the future, including a fully district-funded program, a partnership with an independent provider using district facilities, and a public-private hybrid in which the district subsidizes tuition using general fund dollars.
Parents Alyssa Ravasio and Leila Monroe, members of the Bolinas Stinson Beach School Foundation, are helping steer the transition effort. The pilot program will operate on a pay-what-you-can basis, with tuition set on a sliding scale administered by the district.
In a presentation to the board last week, Ms. Ravasio explained that the tiers are based on qualitative household circumstances rather than strict income brackets. Families with limited means—teachers, artists, students—would pay between $100 and $1,000 per month. The highest tier, labeled “Benefactor,” suggests monthly contributions of $3,000 or more.
“This is for people who identify as wealthy, those with successful companies, or who have a wide range of investments,” one slide read. “Folks who are able to pay at the higher end of the scale contribute more to the future of our community and help others access education.”
The preschool’s annual cost is about $220,000. The foundation has set a fundraising goal of $150,000 for the coming year, an amount it hopes will be met through tuition, philanthropy and grants.
Though the preschool was spared, the district moved forward with one layoff notice this spring—for a bus driver and maintenance position that was recently vacated. That role will remain unfilled, and not everyone is pleased.
“That work does not go away,” Ben Lowrence, a district bus driver and president of the school employees’ union, said at a March meeting. With fewer drivers and maintenance staff, remaining employees will be expected to absorb additional duties without increased pay.
At last Thursday’s meeting, he reiterated his concerns: “I would like to be on record as saying I think that’s a big mistake.”