JEFFERSON TWP — Two parents asked the South Butler School Board Wednesday night to consider changing the kindergarten program to a full-day from its current half-day program.

Vanessa Zanoli of Penn Township has a child in the district’s Pre-K Counts program that is run by Lifesteps and is a full-day program.

Zanoli considers moving her child from a full-day pre-kindergarten program to a half-day kindergarten program as a “step back,” especially when students must then readjust to a full-day first grade program.

Outside of the academic benefits of a full-day program, another parent said that there is a behavioral benefit to a structured program that lasts all day.

This parent also said that half-day kindergarten poses a stress on families with two working parents, making it difficult for them to arrange for day care or transportation.

Superintendent David Zupsic said it is not unreasonable to think about changing the kindergarten program to a full day for the 2016-17 school year.

Zupsic said that a change like this is “a good discussion to have during budgeting time.”

However, with the lack of state funding, Zupsic said it is difficult to add new programs when there is no current state budget to base funding on for next year.

The district has been considering the change to a full-day program and will continue to look into the options, Zupsic said.