West Long Branch Will Start Full-Day, Free PreK In October

WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ — On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Dept. of Education (DOE) announced that 27 school districts across the state will receive funding to launch free PreK this fall, for the 2022-2023 school year.

Howell and West Long Branch are the only school districts in Monmouth County that received funding in this round.

West Long Branch received $249,426 from the DOE and will start their free, full-day PreK program in early October. Howell, a much bigger school district, received $2.2 million.

Long Branch and Eatontown already have free full-day PreK.

School districts had to submit applications in advance to get the state money, and in July of this year, the state expanded the eligibility. However, the wealthiest Monmouth County towns, such as Holmdel, Middletown, Rumson and Monmouth Beach, are still not eligible, as they do not have enough students who qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch.

In July of this year, the DOE broadened the eligibility for free PreK funding to districts with 10 percent of students hailing from lower-income families (defined by kids who are eligible for free or reduced priced lunch). It used to be only districts with "20 percent free lunch" that could apply for free PreK.

This is free PreK for three- and four-year-olds. The state defines this as full-day PreK and will fund a teacher and a teacher's aide.

Murphy has a goal before he leaves office of every school district in the state offering free PreK.

These are all the school districts getting free PreK in Thursday's funding announcement:

Atlantic County Linwood $360,797 from the Dept. of Education

Bergen County Ridgefield Park $235,920

Burlington County Eastampton $548,400

Burlington County Palmyra $507,270

Burlington County Mt Laurel $1,562,610

Camden County Voorhees $1,002,410

Camden County Pine Hill $539,469

Camden County Winslow Twp. $2,329,944

Essex County Montclair $970,555

Essex County Nutley $1,228,170

Essex County West Orange $1,894,659

Gloucester County Pitman $972,648

Gloucester County Deptford $2,261,099

Gloucester County Woodbury $521,395

Hunterdon County Kingwood $154,429

Hunterdon County Milford $168,468

Monmouth County Howell $2,286,405

Monmouth County West Long Branch $249,426

Ocean County Eagleswood $527,448

Ocean County Manchester $3,076,056

Ocean County Plumsted $700,648

Passaic County Prospect Park $1,363,323

Salem County Alloway $364,743

Union County Springfield $1,219,050

Warren County Oxford $349,674

Warren County Pohatcong $322,776

Warren County Franklin $363,123