There are close to forty-four hundred preschool students in licensed programs in New Hanover County, but that represents just 37% of pre-K aged children. While New Hanover County Schools does have a pre-K program, supported by federal, state, and local funding, it serves less than 10 percent of pre-school age children. Jane Morrow of New Hanover County Smart Start estimates that it would be roughly $10 million dollars to provide a voluntary universal program for four-year-olds in the county, although she says, “That’s definitely sort of back of the envelope calculating.”