Newton County will continue to have pre-kindergarten for a full academic career in 2011-12, despite Governor Nathan Deal cutting the program by 20 days in March.

The Newton County Board of Education voted unanimously to continue the program and make up the lack of funding with the money saved from the reduction in middle school staffing.

The county currently serves roughly 560 pre-kindergarten students. Under Deal's plan, there will still be lottery-funded Pre-K, but the year for those students would be shortened from 180 days to 160 days and class size would be increased from 20 students to 22. Pre-K teachers will receive 90 percent of their current salaries and providers will receive 94 percent of operating funds they currently receive. Under this plan, it would save the state roughly $54 million annually.
See Friday's edition of CovNews.com for more on this and other stories.