Norwich ― The school system now hopes to accommodate about 400 preschool students in a mixture of full-day and part-day programs with various funding sources, including 72 spaces for a full-year, 10-hour program for working families, city and school officials said Friday.

The school district’s preschool program has been in a state of flux since budget cuts in late June included the closure of the Bishop Early Learning Center and a move to reduce most preschool classes to half-day. That move was criticized by state and city leaders and parents throughout the summer.

The Board of Education in July directed Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow to create as many full-day preschool classes as the budget and any additional funding would accommodate.

Stringfellow and school Early Childhood Coordinator Jenna Tenore met Friday with Mayor Peter Nystrom in his role as chairman of the Norwich School Readiness Council, and Linda Allen, liaison to the School Readiness Council to discuss the current program configurations.

The School Readiness Council receives and approves state grant money for preschool slots funded through the state school readiness grants. The state Office of Early Childhood provided Norwich with an additional $642,000 for full-day, full-year preschool slots. These are classes that run for 10 hours per day and 51 weeks per year.

Norwich’s proposal to the School Readiness Council includes the 72 full-year slots, 93 six-hour, full school-day slots and 154 part-day slots, all funded through school readiness grants. The proposed plan must be approved by the School Readiness Council, which will hold an online meeting Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Nystrom said the School Readiness Council also could consider other applications for the 72 new full-year, full-day slots funded by the new state grant money. If any private school readiness program providers apply for the new state money, the number of Norwich requests could be reduced.

The school district also plans a six-hour school-day class of 20 students funded through a federal Smart Start grant; 15 students in one six-hour, school-day class with local budget funding and 46 students in part-day classes funded through the local budget, for a total of 400 students.

Stringfellow made budget adjustments to fund the proposed preschool program. Two elementary school teachers at the Samuel Huntington School resigned and will not be replaced, she said. Class sizes will not be overcrowded by the loss, she said. Another three administrative positions were eliminated by attrition, she said, freeing up budget money for preschool.

With the closing of Bishop School, preschool classes will move into four elementary schools. The plan calls for placing the 72 full-year students at the John Moriarty School. Other school-day and part-day classes will be spread among the Moriarty, Samuel Huntington, Thomas Mahan and Veterans’ Memorial School.

Stringfellow said she and Assistant Superintendent Tamara Gloster toured all city schools to secure space to move preschool classes into the elementary schools with the closing of Bishop School. School administrative offices moved into Bishop this summer.

c.bessette@theday.com