$170M in unused UPK funding returned to state; senator says Monroe-Woodbury sent back the most
Universal Pre-K provides free preschool for 4-year-olds and is intended to help prepare children for kindergarten while easing childcare costs for families.
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For many parents, landing a Universal Pre-K (UPK) spot can come down to luck. Families are often placed on waiting lists or lose out in district lotteries because there aren’t enough seats available.
But News 12 has learned more than $170 million in state funding set aside for Universal Pre-K went unused last year and was returned to Albany.
Sen. James Skoufis says Orange County school districts sent back nearly $10 million, with Monroe-Woodbury returning more than any other school district in New York.
Based on the state’s funding formula of roughly $5,400 per student, that amount represents funding for more than 31,000 potential UPK seats statewide.
Universal Pre-K provides free preschool for 4-year-olds and is intended to help prepare children for kindergarten while easing childcare costs for families.
“UPK helps kids a lot. It helps families a lot. How could you send it back?” said Monroe resident and early childhood development professional Rori Matthew.
Skoufis says while some school districts spend every dollar they ’re allocated, others have repeatedly returned millions of dollars that could have been used to expand access to preschool.
“I fight for this money and then they give it back to Albany and they don’t create the UPK slots for four-year-olds in their community,” Skoufis said. “When that happens, that young family has one of two options. They either have to out-of-pocket spend $10,000 to $15,000 a year to get their 4-year-old in education, or they don’t send their 4-year-old to a pre-K education.”
The senator pointed to Monroe-Woodbury and Goshen as examples of districts that have returned large amounts of funding.
“It is disheartening to me. For many years, school districts have been returning this money,” he said. “Goshen returns two-thirds of the state money sent to them. Monroe-Woodbury returned more than $4 million in Universal Pre-K money to Albany.”
Skoufis acknowledged there are exceptions. He said some districts, including Florida, have returned funding only because every family that wanted a UPK spot received one, leaving no additional demand.
But, he argues, that’s not the case in most districts.
“They’ve had six years to figure it out,” Skoufis said. “If they have a space problem, if they have some other problem, they’ve had six years to figure it out. Unfortunately, a big part of the problem is they have not prioritized this. It’s a shame.”
Following News 12's report, Monroe-Woodbury school officials publicly addressed the issue during a board of education meeting, saying the state’s UPK funding formula is based on the total number of eligible 4-year-olds living in the district—not the number of families who actually enroll. Officials said the formula assumes all 848 eligible children in the district would participate, even though many families choose private schools or other options.
Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services Patrick Cahill said the district enrolled 112 children in its UPK program last school year and had 56 children on its waiting list, which he said is a more meaningful measure of unmet demand. He said the district has been steadily expanding the program through community-based partners and district-operated classrooms.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Karin Morales said Monroe-Woodbury has increased UPK capacity from 110 seats in the 2024-25 school year to 133 seats for the upcoming 2026-27 school year while reducing the number of students left unserved on its waiting list.
District officials also said the program has historically been funded through a combination of state aid and local taxpayer dollars, with roughly 35% of costs covered locally. They said changes included in the new state budget will allow the district to expand UPK while reducing the financial burden on local taxpayers.
Monroe resident and early intervention worker Carina Graganella said many families struggle to find available preschool programs and that the funds should be reaching children instead of going back to the state.
“There’s no programs. It’s a lottery and it’s hard for people to get into them,” she said. "It’s just awful that there’s funding that should go to children for education purposes and they’re not getting it. It’s really upsetting to see.”
Changes included in this year’s state budget will require school districts to use their available UPK funding beginning in September 2028. Skoufis said he pushed for the change and hopes districts won’t wait until the mandate takes effect before expanding access.
Here’s how much unused UPK funding Orange County school districts returned to the state last year:
Monroe-Woodbury: $4,786,514
Kiryas Joel: $1,736,472
Goshen: $609,738
Newburgh: $522,187
Port Jervis: $436,296
Pine Bush: $391,673
Warwick Valley: $313,200
Cornwall: $233,500
Chester: $168,092
Florida: $160,981
Highland Falls: $125,801
Washingtonville: $41,772
Middletown: $22,828
Central Valley: $15,179
Greenwood Lake: $0
Minisink Valley: $0
Tuxedo: $0
See the complete statewide list to find out how much unused UPK funding each New York school district returned to the state.
