Preschool fee increases are being sought for the coming school year in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in an effort to compensate for a grant Missouri is eliminating.

The district wants to raise tuition from $32 to $36 per day and from $15 to $17 per half-day, said Dr. Cyndi Hebenstreit, principal of the MRH Early Childhood Center. She spoke Thursday during a presentation to the MRH Board of Education.

Costs for the families of students participating in the free or reduced-cost lunch program would be half of those proposed.

The request comes as the state prepares to phase out the Missouri Preschool Project grant by the 2014-15 school year. That grant accounts for $73,000, or approximately 17 percent, of the MRH preschool program's $430,000 budget this school year, an analysis provided to board members shows.

Grant funding will fall to approximately $55,000 during the 2012-13 school year.

While the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has indicated that it wants to provide funding for 90 percent of the state's preschool students by 2020, Hebenstreit said, the district wants to ensure its services remain in place in the interim.

Even with the increase, MRH would remain among the lowest-cost providers of preschool education in the area, a comparison table states. For example, the Brentwood School District charges a $43 daily fee while the School District of Clayton charges residents a $45 fee and nonresidents $49.

Eighty-two students are enrolled in full-day preschool at MRH, while 30 are enrolled in the half-day program, Hebenstreit said.

MRH needs the increase to stay above water financially, Henke said. The cost-analysis indicates MRH gained approximately $18,600 in preschool revenue during the 2010-11 school year but will spend roughly $19,000 on the program this year and roughly $14,000 the next.

"It hurts but I agree," President Maria Langston of the school board said. "Otherwise, I think we're going to be in more trouble down the road."

The board is expected to vote on the increase at its February meeting.