Parents of kindergarten students in Steinbach have helped the Hanover School Board make a decision about possibly switching to all day kindergarten.  Superintendent Ken Klassen says they have done two surveys with parents.  "We did an initial survey with parents that were potentially sending their children to kindergarten in Steinbach.  We now did a formal survey of parents with children who were actually registered for kindergarten in Steinbach next year.  The survey was to determine whether they would prefer staying with the status quo, which is a half day every day kindergarten program.  Or if they would be interested in a full day every other day kindergarten program, which we currently run in two of our communities in Hanover."

"The results on both surveys were almost identical," he reports.  "It's pretty much a 50-50 split and the board has said it is in no hurry to do this change if there isn't strong support for it.  At this point the board has made no decision to change anything in Steinbach and that results in the decision to leave kindergarten as it is for next year."

Klassen says the matter will now be left alone in Steinbach.  "We had a survey three or four years ago, we did a survey again this year.  The results are almost identical so the board sees it as having very little change in thinking on this in the Steinbach area.  We will not initiate another survey till a group, PAC or a group of parents would come forward and ask us to do so again.  We feel there hasn't been a shift in thinking in this area."