West Orange Will Add Preschool Seats With $1.4M Funding Boost

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Public School District will score $1.45 million in federal funding to expand its preschool program, officials say.

On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy and acting education commissioner Kevin Dehmer announced the award of more than $42 million in federal grant funding to build and expand preschool facilities in 22 New Jersey school districts.

The only district in Essex County to receive funding was West Orange/Mount Pleasant Elementary School, which will get $1,456,000 to help cover an estimated $3,640,000 project cost. The project will add 66 pre-K seats for students.

According to Murphy’s office, the $42 million is the second round of Universal Preschool Facilities Expansion Grant funding, part of $120 million made available through an allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund money in the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget.

The first round provided over $74 million in preschool facilities funding, including nearly $52 million announced in November 2023 and additional Round 1 projects approved after that announcement.

Officials noted that the facilities funding is one of several ways that the state is trying to meet its goal of providing “universal preschool.” Read More: NJ Commits To ‘Universal Pre-K For All’

“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.

West Orange has been expanding its preschool offerings over the past few years with the help of such funding. Read More: West Orange Is Expanding Free Preschool For Upcoming Year

CHILD CARE IN NJ

In October, Gov. Murphy paid a visit to West Orange to announce a new statewide wave of funding for “affordable child care.”

The money will give a boost to child care centers like The Kids Palace II in West Orange, which has been approved for a grant award of $189,300 to install sprinkler and alarm systems among other improvements, allowing the center to expand its state license to accept infants.

• See Related: Millions In Funding Is Coming To Expand Child Care In New Jersey
• See Related: NJ Still Plagued By High Child Care Costs, Low Worker Wages: Advocates

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