Voorhees opens Early Childhood Development Center; district outlines costs, funding and operations

Voorhees Township School District formally opened its Voorhees Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) on June 2, and district officials at the June board meeting presented the timeline, funding and initial enrollment for the new preschool facility.

District leaders told the board the district closed on a former commercial building at 250 Haddonfield Berlin Road in Gibbsboro after state and local planning approvals, then renovated it into a 24-classroom preschool center. “On June 2, the students arrived, and it was an amazing day,” said the board secretary (board secretary report). The district reported 93 preschool students attended during the first week of operation.

The project’s budget and financing were a major focus. The district said the overall project estimate used in long-range planning was $18,000,000. The construction contract awarded in June 2024 to Weatherby Construction and Renovation Corp. was $14,598,000, which included a $300,000 allowance for unforeseen items. After three change orders — one involving a scope modification from a warming kitchen to a full-service kitchen and two other code-related and required modifications — the contract total rose…