No free pre-k in Garwood

By Cranford Chronicle

January 22, 2010, 9:15AM

By Carolyn Freundlich

GARWOOD — The Board of Education has decided to charge for pre-kindergarten in the 2010-2011 school year — $5,000 for full day students, $2,500 for half day.

After working on a preliminary budget, the Board’s Finance Committee has concluded, “We are at quite a deficit for the upcoming school year,” according to Board member Susan Groning.
Superintendent Teresa Quigley said that the deficit increased because “we keep getting mandates that we have to follow.” For the 2010-2011 school year, the budget now will have to accommodate a mandated increase in special education, teachers’ salaries rising 4.3%, and the cost of health insurance for everyone in the district increasing 20% (accumulating to a total of $100,000).