22 NJ schools will split $42M to create, expand pre-K programs

Another round of millions in federal money has been earmarked for 22 school districts around New Jersey, to build and expand preschool facilities.

Gov. Phil Murphy and Acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer announced the recipients of over $42 million in federal grant funding.

The 22 projects would help open up 1,493 more pre-K classroom spots in 14 of NJ’s counties. Of the grants, 15 of them were for more than a million dollars, each.

The largest grant was $7.7 million going to the Pennsauken School District in Camden County, to create 120 pre-K seats at Baldwin Elementary School.

Carteret public schools were getting $5.8 million for Columbus Elementary School, while Wayne public schools were receiving $5 million for two projects at Preakness Early Childhood Center.

Middlesex County had four communities receiving grants — in addition to Carteret, schools in Dunellen, Highland Park and Piscataway had elementary projects getting funds.

RELATED: These 18 lucky NJ school districts to offer full-day, free preschool

This followed over $74 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund money, awarded in the first round of the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget.

Atlantic County

Hamilton Township: Joseph C. Shaner Memorial Elementary School, $2.8 million
Hammonton: Hammonton Early Childhood Educational Center, $2.7 million

Bergen County

Palisades Park: Charles R, Smith Early Childhood Center, $2 million

Burlington County

Cinnaminson: Cinnaminson Memorial School, $150,000
Palmyra: Delaware Avenue School, $1 million

Camden County

Pennsauken: Baldwin Elementary School, $7.7 million

Cumberland County

Commercial Township: Commercial Township School, $1 million

Essex County

West Orange: Mount Pleasant Elementary School, $1.4 million

Hunterdon County

Clinton Township: Spruce Run Preschool, $232,000
Readington Township: Three Bridges School, $208,363

Middlesex County

Carteret: Columbus Elementary School, $5.8 million
Dunellen: John P. Faber Elementary School, $3.5 million
Highland Park: Irving Primary School (two projects) $573,240
Piscataway: Fellowship Farms Elementary School, $2.3 million

Monmouth County

Township of Ocean: Wayside Elementary School, $87,633
Township of Ocean: Ocean Township Elementary School, $46,116
Township of Ocean: Wanamassa Elementary School, $147,237

Ocean County

Lacey Township: Mill Pond Elementary School, $1.3 million
Point Pleasant Borough: Ocean Road Elementary School, $93,702

Passaic County

Wayne Township: Preakness Early Childhood Center (2 projects), $5 million

Sussex County

Franklin Borough: Franklin Borough School, $211,069
Sandyston-Walpack: Sandyston Walpack School, $400,000

Union County

Rahway: Franklin Elementary School, $1.1 million
Rahway: Roosevelt Elementary School, $1 million

Warren County

Great Meadows Regional: Liberty Elementary School, $1 million

New Jersey’s approach to universal preschool has been blending district-provided preschool programs with classrooms contracted in licensed childcare providers and Head Start programs.

Awards were based on four priorities in the following order:

▪️ Proposals to increase available preschool seats by at least 10%
▪️ Proposals to increase capacity of existing classrooms or build/rehabilitate restrooms.
▪️ Proposals to expand preschool programs from half-day to full-day.
▪️ Proposals to expand classroom capacity with new preschool programs and additional seats.

“Families and educators in many school districts have been eager to establish new, high-quality preschool programs in their community,” Dehmer said in a written release. “However, we’ve also heard from many school leaders that the biggest obstacle they face has been the lack of adequate facilities needed to house those programs. This initiative marks a significant step towards universal access to high-quality preschool as it makes funding widely available to help school districts build, expand, or renovate school facilities specifically for preschool students.”

“High-quality preschool can positively impact the trajectory of a child’s life, which is why we have made it our mission to expand access to these critical programs,” Murphy said. “These grant awards to support preschool construction and expansion projects represent an investment in our children’s futures and will help bring us closer to our goal of realizing universal preschool in New Jersey.”

As of October, 293 NJ school districts had state-funded, high-quality preschool programs – 229 of which were established during the Murphy Administration.

It was not immediately clear if this latest round of funding brought the number of state-funded full day pre-K programs above the 300 mark.

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