UPDATE: City Schools of Decatur Lottery in Limbo

With lottery-funded Pre-K dollars at risk and a proposal from Gov. Nathan Deal on the table to cut funded hours from 6.5 to 4 per day, the City Schools of Decatur is taking proactive measures and plans to charge tuition for students wishing to remain at school for a full day during the next academic year at .

For full day students, the school plans to charge $3,055 for the August, 2011 to May, 2012 academic year, according to a letter sent home to parents from Decatur School Superintendent Phyllis Edwards.

The half day Pre-K program will remain lottery funded, and free at College Heights, located at 917 S. McDonough St. Pre-K currently runs from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Aftercare would be an additional charge of $2,500 from September to May if their child attends from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., which most parents pay at a weekly or monthly rate.

"The [Deal] proposal seems to be gaining momentum, and we anticipate a high probability that this cut to the program will be implemented," said Edwards in the letter sent home to current College Heights parents. "CSD cannot fund a full-time program with partial revenue from the state lottery funds."

As a result of the changes, the school has cancelled its Pre-K lottery for Tuesday, March 1 until it receives the intentions of its Pre-K parents, whether for a half day at no cost or the full day, where tuition applies. The lottery is also cancelled until the state legislature votes on the measure.

"Everyone will be stuck in limbo until Gov. Deal's proposal is a done deal," said Suzanne Kennedy, principal at College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center. "We're preparing. We're looking at what the community needs and wants and we're going to provide that."

Other school systems, including DeKalb County, have yet to reveal how they will handle Pre-K, or if they will offer it at all. DeKalb's Pre-K typically goes to lottery, so that too, may keep parents in waiting.

For Decatur city schools, College Heights is also asking parents if they would want options, such as a half day in the morning or a half day in the afternoon, though it's unclear what those hours would be or if College Heights currently has enough room.

Apparently 196 families have already registered for 180 available slots for Pre-K.

College Heights is operating nine Pre-K classes this year, including several in three trailers, or "learning cottages."

Next year's Pre-K parents have until March 7 to decide what they plan to do, and then, the rest is up to state legislators.

"This is in preparation," Kennedy said. "But we don't have a next move."