LOWER MERION — After years of parents asking for it, Lower Merion School District officials have approved a plan for full-day kindergarten.

But, school district officials say that full-time kindergarten will come at a cost.

During its December board meeting, the Lower Merion Board of School Directors voted for the district to move forward with the full-day kindergarten beginning in the fall of 2024.

Before the board’s vote, Superintendent Steven Yanni outlined some of the issues connected with the district’s change to full-day kindergarten.

Among the changes Yanni mentioned was the need for increased revenue from taxpayers.

“There is no way to bring in full-day kindergarten and the number of staff we need to bring without that tax increase,” Yanni said.

Yanni said they are projecting an approximately $400 tax increase for a medium-valued home to pay for the full-day kindergarten.

One thing that is expected to stay the same, according to Yanni, is class size.

“We may see an additional student or two in classrooms, and that’s going to allow us to naturally create capacity to reroute positions to full-day kindergarten,” Yanni said.

Yanni said all the new kindergarten positions will not be new, so they plan on surveying