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Full-day kindergarten programs at 71 of the county's 137 elementary schools are at risk of elimination under a preliminary county budget cut proposal.

The reduction would help bridge the budget shortfall by $13.3 million, according to the school system budget office. Cuts would not be applied to Fairfax County's 30 elementary schools with Title I status, a federal program that serves schools with high percentages of low-income students.

"Kindergarten is a grade level. It's not sports. It's not arts. It's not something you opt for. It's like first grade," said Jennifer McClelland, a mother of one current and another future Olde Creek Elementary School kindergartner. "You expect the kindergarten teacher to teach in a half day what her counterparts -- and I mean the rest of the state -- have a full day to teach?"

If cut, administrators said, it is likely the school system will divide kindergarten classes in to morning and afternoon shifts, eliminating some of the teaching positions, helping cut costs.

"Some children will go to school at the normal time, 8:30 a.m., and half will go in the afternoon. They do this arbitrarily, based on where you live," said McClelland.

"My biggest concern is the academic impact," said Shannon Murphy, whose children attend Mantua Elementary School in Fairfax. She said kindergartners at half-day programs in other Fairfax public schools are given as much as an hour of homework a night because teachers have the same material to cover in half the time.

"That, to me, is extraordinary," said Murphy, who worries about the decline in Standards of Learning test scores. "How are they supposed to make up what they miss? Why aren't [school officials] changing the bus boundaries? Crossing guards aren't as expensive as bus drivers and gas. It seems to me that would be a huge cost savings."

Although the No. 1 issue for parents is the quality of education provided to kindergartners, they also said half-day classes provide a logistical hassle.

"It would affect our schedule," said Melissa Crowley, whose daughter Marianne, 5, will be a kindergartner at Olde Creek next year. Crowley would have to rearrange Marianne's schedule to fit with her brother Will's, who is currently a full-day first-grader at Olde Creek, and younger sister Margaret, 2, who will soon be entering pre-school.

"If [Marianne] was released before noon, that would be hard for me to pick up my preschooler and get Marianne," said Crowley, who works part-time helping children with learning issues at Olde Creek.

Still another issue raised by the cuts, is what do to with children not attending Title I schools who now receive free meals during full-day classes.

"Our school is not Title I, so economically we don't get that support. But we do have a lot of children who get free or reduced lunches. If they are in the morning half-day program, they won't get lunch. If they are in the afternoon classes, they won't get breakfast," said Crowley.

If approved, the budget reductions would impact kindergartners during the 2010-2011 school year. Parents of these students say they are already scouting private schools.

"With the economy down, they lost a lot of families," said Crowley of the private schools. "But with this, they might get a lot of families."

Superintendant Jack Dale presents his proposed fiscal 2011 budget to the School Board Jan. 11. The board has marked May 20, as their deadline to approve this budget. Several community discussions and public hearings are scheduled between Dec. 2 and May 12. For more information about these meetings and the preliminary budget cuts, visit www.fcps.com.