For the second month in a row, a proposal by the Mathews Family YMCA to offer a preschool/day care program for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds on school property dominated public discussion during Tuesday’s meeting of the Mathews County School Board.
The proposal, which was introduced by the Y at the school board’s October meeting, has received both support and criticism in the following weeks. Those in favor have pointed out the deep need for such a service to the county’s young families and a boost to students being able to read on grade level by the third grade. Those in opposition have said that it goes beyond the school board’s mission to provide K-12 instruction as well as concerns over liability and if the county might be asked to pick up the bill in the event the YMCA ever stepped away from the program.
At the board’s November meeting, the majority of public comments favored the proposal, including those from county supervisors Tim Doss and Tom Bowen and Mathews High School principal Dr...