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Lakewood, NJ - The township Board of Education has brought all preschool services in-house, suddenly severing longstanding and, at times, controversial ties with private special education providers just as the school year gets under way today.

District officials said the move is an effort, two months in the making, to save money and streamline the preschool programs. But it also comes on the heels of a warning from state officials that funding could be cut if the school district continued using the preschool service Tiny Tots.

The criticism centered on the Lakewood-based provider specifically and the inefficiency of outside contracts in general, according to district officials.

“They (the state Department of Education) had some concerns about the curriculum and facility” at Tiny Tots, said Leonard Thomas, school board president. “I was told that basically it was implied that if we were to attempt to keep that program, we’d be in jeopardy of losing our preschool funding,” totaling about $4 million.

State education officials did not provide information or comment Tuesday.

Messages left with Tiny Tots and two of the other providers were not returned. An answering service at Tiny Tots said Tuesday it “will not be servicing children coming through the board of ed” starting today.

The school board voted on the change at an emergency meeting Monday. The new district-run preschool system, or Early Childhood Center, will consist of 15 classes mixed with special and regular education students in two locations: Linden Avenue behind the Ella G. Clarke School and Somerset Avenue adjacent to the middle school. The Somerset location is the former site of the ACE program, an alternative school serving struggling students that has since integrated into the high school. Four of the classes will be reserved for special education only.

The Linden site used to house Catapult Learning, one of the largest of the four contractors that have been dropped. Its relationship with the district has come under criticism from some parents and private school leaders for becoming too cozy over the years.

The district held three open houses Monday that drew about 300 parents interested in enrolling their children into the center, according to Board Attorney Michael Inzelbuch.

The other two providers dropped by the district were Ready Set Grow and Macedonia Day Care Center, both in Lakewood. The Rev. Edward Harper, chairman of Macedonia, said he was shocked to receive a letter Monday that, without warning or explanation, notified the day care center of the abolished contract. Harper said he will lose four of his 20 students, meaning a shortfall of about $3,600 a month.

“At least tell me why, maybe pick up the phone and ask me for a meeting,” Harper said Tuesday.

Inzelbuch said the district could save more than $500,000 by bringing preschool in-house. To be sure, district officials said the recommendation to no longer outsource the programs had been discussed for months, with only a few board members resisting until this week.

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