Talk about smart investments and tax money well spent. Voters in Durham County, N.C., will soon vote whether to impose a new quarter-cent sales tax, the revenues of which would go, in part, toward funding early childhood education programs.

The new tax is expected to generate some $9.2 million annually, reports The Herald Sun. Durham's Partnership for Children, an organization that serves the district's 25,000 students, would receive 2.17 percent to help expand its Transition to Kindergarten program. The program provides early Pre-K learning opportunities and helps foster cooperation between family members and teachers. 

County officials hope the funding could even have long-term benefits. For example, investing in early childhood education now could decrease the costs associated with retraining adults at Durham Technical Community College. 

"Most studies show the importance of pre-K in helping to get a child ready to learn," said Laura Benson, Executive Director of Durham's Partnership for Children. "The idea is for us to help expand the investment in pre-K services so that more of our at-risk children get this early boost." 

You can read more about the new tax and the Partnership's programs here.