Schools
West Long Branch Will Start Full-Day, Free PreK In October
The wealthiest Monmouth County towns are not eligible for free PreK funding from the state, as they do not have enough low-income students:
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/22870800/20220908/124902/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-244805671-4___08124849070.jpg)
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.
Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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.
Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.