RALEIGH, (AP) - Gov. Beverly Perdue says she's shifting money to enroll another 2,000 at-risk 4-year-olds in a state program that helps them catch up to their peers before entering kindergarten.

Perdue's office said Wednesday it has identified $9 million from child care subsidy funds to pay for an extra 2,000 slots in the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten program.

A state judge overseeing North Carolina's long-running school funding lawsuit ruled in July that no eligible child can be turned away from the free preschool education. The budget designed by the
Republican-led Legislature required most families who qualified for the program to make a co-payment to participate.

GOP lawmakers have resisted putting more money into the program for the estimated 67,000 eligible children. The service is now available to nearly 25,000 children.