Although Denton school board members have expressed their desire to meet the needs of the district’s youngest students as fast as they can, such action was not on the agenda Tuesday night.

Instead, they continued their discussion on what to do about expanding early childhood education.

“Wed in haste; repent in leisure,” school board President Charles Stafford said after the meeting.

“You can’t hurry a good decision,” he said.

All members appear to support building a second early childhood facility, although the cost would be more than what was allotted in the 2004 bond package. But they seemed split on a possible expansion of the current facility, the Ann Windle School for Young Children.

Because of budgetary constraints, the Ann Windle School was built without three classrooms called for in the original design.

With the district growing, there has been a waiting list at the school for several years, and an official stated during the previous meeting that the district is serving slightly less than half of the students who could benefit from early childhood education with its current program and pre-kindergarten classes.

By the end of the June 10 board meeting, it appeared most members would support at least expanding the Ann Windle School to meet the original de­sign.

At least two board members felt that isn’t enough.

District spokeswoman Sharon Cox said Tuesday that in the last month, school board members have visited the Ann Windle School, in addition to other early childhood centers in other districts, to study the issue.

The school district brought in University of North Texas professor Donald Easton-Brooks, who said he’s been involved with early childhood education for 15 years, to talk to board members about the issue.

“I’ve not seen a center that’s as well designed for young children as Ann Windle,” he said.

He told the board he wouldn’t add on to the school except to expand the library, and he discussed possible effects if the district did add three to six more classrooms.

If the Ann Windle School was the best place to add more classrooms, up to six classrooms could work, Easton-Brooks said.

School board Vice President Jim Alexander said he’s learned a lot about early childhood education, but not enough yet to make a good decision.

“At best, if we’re going to do anything at Ann Windle, we ought to do only the original design that was there. … It would allow us to get started on another 45 to 50 students soon and that is a very valuable thing,” he said.

In the long run, he said he would support three moderately sized early childhood centers placed throughout the district.

“I’m really eager to get started on the construction on another building, and I guess my thinking is that perhaps we ought not to worry so much about the modest increase at Ann Windle” but focus on the design of the new facility, he said.

Stafford asked Easton-Brooks if he thought six classrooms could be added without significantly degrading the program’s quality. Easton-Brooks said yes, adding that some adjustments might need to be made.

The Ann Windle School is doing a good job, Stafford said, just not for enough people.

He indicated support for six more classrooms at the Ann Windle School, as well as for the eventual addition of not only a second facility but a third. 

At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Stafford said the signals he got from other board members is that they all recognize there is an unmet need in early education.

They’ve just been exploring ways to address that need, he said.

Stafford said he’s encouraged by what he sees as a unity of purpose on the board, even though they are “not clear on the details.”

Any work on a second facility is being put on hold while board members iron out details to the district’s early childhood education plan.

Stafford said he believes the board will be able to take action on the plan to meet the current construction time frames proposed by the architects at previous meetings.

AMY DODD THOMPSON can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is athompson@dentonrc.com .