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District announces state pre‑K award covering 463 seats; lottery details set for November
Summary
Superintendent and early‑childhood staff said the district received state PEA funding to create 463 pre‑K seats (including slots for students with disabilities) and plans a November 10 lottery to allocate 70 available seats; administrators said many awarded programs aim to open January 1.
District administrators told the board the Edison Township School District has been awarded state pre‑K (PEA) funding that will expand access to three‑ and four‑year‑old programming across the district.
"We were awarded $1,483,000 in PEA funding," said Doctor Tuohy, who provided a breakdown: the award supports a total of 463 seats (general education and special education placements), with about 250 seats designated for students with disabilities in district programs and additional placements at select licensed community childcare centers. According to Tuohy, 70 seats will be released from the wait list via a lottery on Nov. 10. Many districts awarded the grant plan to open programs on Jan. 1; the district said it is aiming to enroll awarded children as soon as practical.
Nut graf: The pre‑K expansion is a multi‑year commitment that administrators said will require coordination across transportation and early childhood staff; the board thanked early childhood staff and said implementation will involve transportation arrangements because pre‑K students are transported.
Board members praised the effort and staff leading the application; administrators said the department will publish waitlist and placement information for families. One board member earlier cited a larger, garbled figure in public remarks; the administration’s explanation and Tuohy’s breakdown are the recorded figures in the presentation.
Ending: The administration said it will provide parents with additional information the next day and that the district is ‘locked in’ for multi‑year funding commitments once the program is implemented.
