Speaking of school boards, and the relative competency thereof, the Seattle Public Schools is considering a 50 percent increase in the price of full-day kindergarten:

Seattle Public Schools is looking at increasing the cost of full-day kindergarten from $207 per month to $310 per month in order to help cover a predicted $35 million budget gap in the 2011-2012 school year.

The state only funds half-day kindergarten, and SPS currently charges families $207 per month to fund full-day kindergarten because of a large demand for the service.

Considering that nearly every study ever conducted on the subject concludes that full-day kindergarten is absolutely crucial to the future success of students (and let's not get started on the well-documented efficacy of pre-school), a lot of folks might be surprised to learn that the state does not fund such as part of its "Basic Education" package. Yes, the fee is waived for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, but that leaves a helluva lot of middle income families in the lurch. Exactly $3,100 a year in the lurch, should the SPS's proposed kindergarten tuition hike go into effect.

The SPS is running an online survey on the proposal. Let 'em know how you feel.