The Mill Valley School District will violate a state mandate if it eliminates transitional kindergarten to help solve its budget deficit, according to Marin County’s schools superintendent.

The district administration recommended the move as part of an effort to close a $7.3 million gap. The board approved $6 million in proposed cuts on Jan. 16, including a $1.9 million cut in funding for transitional kindergarten.

The loss of transitional kindergarten, which prepares 4-year-olds for kindergarten at age 5, would mean layoffs for 11 teachers and 11 teachers’ aides.

John Carroll, the county superintendent of schools, sent an email to the Mill Valley superintendent this week saying that the California Department of Education “has been clear in its conclusion” that basic aid districts must offer transitional kindergarten. Mill Valley is such a district.

“Unless and until the Legislature, the courts or CDE provide clarification in this area, MCOE’s position will remain that basic aid districts must also offer TK,” Carroll wrote.A basic aid district is one that is community-funded through property taxes. The state provides basic aid districts no per-pupil funding for transitional kindergarten.

However, most basic aid districts in Marin, with the exception of the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District, run the program anyway, Carroll said.

The Mill Valley School District has maintained that transitional kindergarten is an “unfunded mandate” that is not binding. In a letter to Carroll, Elizabeth Kaufman, the Mill Valley superintendent, pointed to the Larkspur-Corte Madera district’s stance.

“Since we are all part of the same county, I’m wanting to make sure we are aligned in our interpretation of the law,” Kaufman wrote. “Our counsel has been engaged in all of our decision making, and I assume that LCMSD has engaged counsel as well.”

Brett Geithman, superintendent of the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District, said the district administration “believes in early childhood education.”

“We wish the state would fund basic aid districts for the transitional kindergarten programs,” he said Wednesday. “But for us to do it, it would come at a great cost to our fiscal stability.”

Carroll said he wants all Marin districts to have transitional kindergarten, including Larkspur-Corte Madera. But the Mill Valley program is top of mind now because it is at risk of being cut.

“There are 150 to 250 kids who will not have an early childhood education this fall if the program closes,” he said in an interview. “To me, one of my three leverage points in this job is early childhood education. I can’t just sit still and let this happen.”

Carroll said research indicates that “TK and early childhood education have an outsized positive effect on outcomes later in life.”

“It’s an equity issue,” he said.

Kaufman, who started in her job less than two years ago, has said she spent an enormous amount of time grappling with the deficit and district’s lack of preparation for losing $6.2 million in pandemic relief funds that expired last fall. Most of the transitional kindergarten funding came from the relief money, according to the district.

Meanwhile, a group of about 275 parents in the district has started a fundraising campaign to preserve the program.

Siddharth Vanchinathan, one of the organizers, said he received a written response from Kaufman saying she would consider a one-time, one-year extension for transitional kindergarten if the full funding is received by April 4.

“We are incredibly grateful for your commitment and support!” Kaufman wrote in an email to the group.

Carroll said the district has until Feb. 28 to tell the Marin County Office of Education what cuts it will make for 2025-26 to remedy its “qualified” budget status. The status means the budget will fall below the 3% minimum state mandate on reserves by its third year out in 2027-28.

The state deadline for layoff warning notices is March 15.