HARRISBURG - During last year's state education funding impasse, Gov. Ed Rendell was adamant that the Legislature fund programs to ensure Pennsylvania's youngest children start school ready to learn.

Both Rendell and Education Secretary Vicki Phillips cited reams of research touting the benefits of preschool, full-day kindergarten, and reduced class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. Yet Republican legislative leaders were equally adamant that districts should have flexibility to spend any new money on other programs that could help them comply with federal mandates to improve math and reading test scores.

A compromise was forged under a grant program that allows the 501 districts to choose from a wider array of options to improve student achievement, including tutoring and teacher training. Lawmakers agreed in December to set aside $175 million for the grants in the fiscal year that begins July 1, but Rendell is pushing for an additional $75 million.

An official tally of where the money will go won't be known until May, when districts must tell the state how they will spend the grants. But anecdotal evidence and an informal Education Department survey suggest that early childhood education, especially full-day kindergarten, is a popular choice.

The department's recent survey asked districts if they planned to spend all or part of their grants on early childhood initiatives. Of the 195 that responded, nearly 190 said they would spend a combined $127 million to implement full-day kindergarten, preschool, reduced class sizes, or a combination thereof, spokesman Brian Christopher said.

"I think that's pretty overwhelming," he said.

According to the most recent data available, 240 school districts provided some form of full-day kindergarten during the 2002-2003 school year.

But not all districts with a full-day program can afford to offer it to all students. The Brentwood Borough School District currently provides an extended-day program for 17 at-risk children using federal Title I funds, while other kindergartners attend a half-day program, Superintendent Anne Stephens said.

Stephens anticipates using the extra state dollars next year to enroll 85 children in a full-day program. The district would receive a $139,020 grant under the $175 million agreed to by lawmakers, or $198,600 under Rendell's $250 million budget request.

"I think that over the long haul, (full-day kindergarten) is going to do the most good for our children," Stephens said.

In Wilkes-Barre, school officials have discussed full-day kindergarten for the last five years, but were not able to pay for it until the accountability grant program was approved, Superintendent Jeff Namey said. He expects the district to hire at least 10 new teachers to expand its existing half-day program, which enrolls 430 students.

"I firmly believe the governor is right on target," Namey said. "I've been in education 34 years, and I can tell you that the primary grades are without question the most important time in a child's life."

The grant awards are tied largely to the number of children performing below grade level on state math and reading tests. Philadelphia, the state's largest district, stands to receive the largest amount, at least $35 million.

Part of the appeal of full-day kindergarten may be the relative ease with which districts can implement it, said Stinson Stroup, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

"The predominant answer is early childhood education and expanding all-day kindergarten in those districts that have started it," Stroup said. "It's probably the easiest thing for districts to pursue the strategic plans they already have in place."