Monroe-Woodbury returns most unused Universal Pre-K funding in Orange County

Monroe-Woodbury Central School District returned nearly $4.8 million in unused Universal Pre-K funding, the largest amount sent back by any district in New York. Orange County districts together returned nearly $10 million, underscoring how much of the state’s early-childhood money never reached classrooms in the county.

The lost funding matters because Universal Pre-K is meant to give 4-year-olds free preschool while helping working families offset child care costs. In Central Valley, the district’s unused share signals that state aid alone did not translate into filled seats, even as Monroe-Woodbury continued to push families to sign up through interest forms for the 2025-26 school year, due Feb. 11, 2025, and for 2026-27, due Feb. 20, 2026.

Statewide, New York school districts left roughly $170 million of the $1.2 billion set aside for public pre-K untouched during the 2024-25 school year. That was about 14 percent of the allocation. Dozens of districts opted out of the program entirely, meaning some families could not even apply for a seat in their own districts.

The state Education Department keeps the program’s funding and application process district by district, which means access depends on local participation, staffing and space. The Children’s Agenda has argued that the funding mechanism is inequitable and unsustainable, a criticism that has gained traction as districts continue to leave money on the table while families seek affordable preschool options.

The issue has also reached lawmakers. On March 2, 2026, Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Dana Levenberg joined parents and educators in Croton-on-Hudson to call for more UPK capacity and more funding. For Orange County, the Monroe-Woodbury numbers put a local face on a statewide problem: a program designed to widen access still depends on districts being able to convert money into real seats for children.