$2M In Grant Will Power Preschool Program In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — The South Brunswick School District was awarded $2 million by the state to run a full-day preschool program, Superintendent Scott Feder said during the Board of Education meeting.

The program is expected to begin in January and the school district has a whole lot of work to be done by then, Feder said.

“This is amazing for us. But I do want the board and the community to fully understand a tremendous amount of crunch work is going to happen between now and when we must begin this program in January,” Feder said. “It is almost impossible to do. But we will do it.”

Feder said the district will continue to build on the program they create in January. He thanked staff members who were instrumental in helping the district get the funding.

“Thank you, guys, for the amazing work. Your hard work has paid off, unfortunately, it just means more hard work to get this up and running,” Feder said.

The school district will provide the community with regular updates on how the program is progressing.

“We're very excited about what this means for our community,” Feder said. “Just imagine, in about five years almost all of our 3-and-4-year-olds will have full access to full-day preschool for free. That's incredible.”

In September, the state announced $26 million to expand access to preschools in some school districts. The state funding comes as experts say New Jersey lacks enough access to quality, affordable child care — an issue the pandemic worsened.

Many New Jersey residents live in child care deserts — areas without enough access to affordable, quality childcare — according to childcaredeserts.org's map.

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