Topeka ? Enrollment in all-day kindergarten programs is booming in Kansas.

The state Department of Education reports that it has more than tripled over the past decade. In the last school year, more than 27,000 students were enrolled in such programs, compared with about 8,000 during the 1998-99 school year.

And the enrollment during the 2007-08 school year was 25 percent higher than it was the previous school year.

The numbers are likely to grow again next year, too, but at a slower rate, said Dale Dennis, the state’s deputy education commissioner. The holdup for many is space.

“Facilities are a challenge for some,” Dennis told The Topeka Capital-Journal.

One reason for the growth in all-day kindergarten programs is state aid to public schools. For the current school year, it amounts to $3.2 billion – or $892 million more than the state spent four years ago.

The Kansas Supreme Court forced the increases with rulings in a lawsuit filed by parents and administrators in the Dodge City and Salina school districts. The court said the state wasn’t providing a suitable education for all children, something required by its constitution.

Much of the money has gone to help students who are considered dropout risks, and the state says all-day kindergarten programs qualify.

In Silver Lake, northwest of Topeka, voters approved a $7.9 million bond issue last year that allowed the school district to expand its classroom space and start all-day kindergarten.

That has given teacher Karen Larson more space and more time with her young students. On one recent day, she set a group of 5- and 6-year-olds loose with paint and glitter while students in four other centers worked.

“It’s pretty much a dream room,” Larson said of her new quarters.

Other districts are still holding off, however. In De Soto, Superintendent Sharon Zoellner said space and the need to double the number of kindergarten teachers prevent an all-day kindergarten program in her district.

“I certainly believe in the concept and wish we could do it right now, but given our space concerns, we certainly don’t have room for it at this point in time,” Zoellner said.