Egg Harbor Township School District is receiving $2.8 million in state money to expand their preschool program to a full day beginning in February of 2021.

Gov. Murphy made the announcement Monday that ten school districts in the state are receiving a total of $10 million in preschool aid to implement or expand early childhood education programs early next year.

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Egg Harbor Township School District will get $2,835,866, the largest amount of any of the school districts receiving any funds.

After considering the move for many years, Egg Harbor Township finally went to a full-day kindergarten this year.

The district presently offers a half-day preschool program which costs participating families $200 a month. The new state aid package will allow the program to expand to a full day and make the program free for residents.

Acting Commissioner of Education Dr. Angeline Allen-McMillan commented that “the expansion of preschool has been a priority of the Murphy administration since day 1, but COVID-19 has shown the critical importance of high-quality, standards-aligned early childhood education.”

Murphy commented, “Our investments in Pre-K are some of the most impactful we can make. Studies have shown that over a lifetime, every dollar invested in early education is repaid many times over.

“This has meant more peace of mind for parents who no longer have to worry about daily childcare while they work,” the governor said. “Pre-K is a win, win, win all around.”

The districts receiving the funds include:

County

District

Preschool Education Aid Amount

Atlantic

Egg Harbor Township School District

$2,835,866

Bergen

North Arlington School District

$560,208

Bergen

Fairview Public Schools

$2,126,751

Burlington

Lumberton School District

$345,072

Camden

Clementon School District

$302,242

Hunterdon

Hampton School District

$338,675

Monmouth

Matawan-Aberdeen Regional

$1,574,034

Ocean

Seaside Heights School District

$482,095

Salem

Quinton Township School District

$349,506

Somerset

Manville School District

$1,085,550

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