The Head Start program at Oakland Elementary School has received an early Christmas gift — free rent for the rest of the school year.

Butler School Board members voted Tuesday night to allow the Head Start program to remain at the school for free.

Alice Nunes, CEO of the Butler County Children’s Center, which oversees the county Head Start programs, said her agency had considered moving the program to its Bon Aire facility to save money. Rent for Head Start at Oakland Elementary was $400 a month.

“I was pleasantly surprised and grateful,” said Nunes when she found out about the district’s generosity.

Nunes had asked school administrators if the lease could be broken, but she hadn’t actually asked for free rent.

“I understand everyone’s going through bad times, tough times. The board did not want to disrupt children and their programming,” she said of the school board’s decision.

Across the United States, the early education program for 3- to 5-year-olds has struggled financially because of federal funding cuts this year.

In Butler County, a Head Start class that was at Moraine Elementary School in the Slippery Rock School District closed before the beginning of the school year to offset some of the cuts. Also, start dates for classes were pushed back and some staff members had their hours cut.

Butler Superintendent Mike Strutt said helping the Head Start program is the right thing to do, especially since the children in it are future Butler School District students.