Child care and preschool give kids the support they need to succeed in school and life. But these programs are too hard to find and too expensive to afford in our mountain community. You can change that - and give every child from Parachute to Aspen a strong start and a bright future – by voting yes on 7A. Measure 7A asks voters in Garfield, Pitkin and SW Eagle counties to approve a new early childhood service district and fund it with a modest sales tax increase – just 25 pennies on a $100 purchase - that will generate roughly $12 million per year to support our local children, families, and teachers. New revenue will be used to: 

• Reduce the cost of care for families with kids from birth to age five,

• Ensure more child care and preschool options are available in our region, and 

• Support early childhood teachers and staff

The high cost of child care and preschool and the lack of availability are challenges that face communities across our region, and ours is a regional economy. Workers regularly cross city and county boundaries as they travel between home and work. By partnering regionally – across Garfield, Pitkin and SW Eagle counties - we can provide access to safe, reliable child care for our kids. This will allow parents to go to work and be productive in their jobs – and that helps local businesses, boosting our regional economy. To administer this new funding across the region, Measure 7A proposes to create an early childhood service district – like a fire or transportation district – with an elected board and accountability provisions to ensure dollars are spent as intended.

Measure 7A funding will make our community a more affordable and welcoming place for families to raise their kids and will help us attract and retain preschool and child care teachers and staff. Money will go to: 

• Reduce the cost of care for families with kids from birth to age five

• Ensure more child care and preschool options are available in our community and 

• Support early childhood teachers and staff

Research has shown that ninety percent (90%) of a child’s brain develops by age five. Children with access to quality child care and preschool programs enter kindergarten prepared to learn, start reading earlier and graduate high school at higher rates, setting them up for success by giving them more opportunities throughout school and life. But right now, only 44% of kids under the age of five in our region have access to a licensed child care spot. Families that can find care are burdened by the expense. With an average cost of nearly $17,000 per year for full time programs, child care can be the largest expense a family faces each month, often costing more than housing or college tuition.

Measure 7A was developed by a group of local parents, children’s advocates, educators, philanthropists and community leaders dedicated to making our community a great place to raise a family. 7A has been endorsed by a wide range of civic leadership organizations, businesses and non-profits, education and health care groups and a bi-partisan group of current and former elected leaders. Visit www.strongstartbrightfuture.com/endorsements to see more.

7A proposes a modest 0.25% sales tax increase – just 25 pennies on a $100 purchase – with everyday necessities, like groceries, gas, medicine and diapers, excluded from the tax. It will be administered through a new service district – like a fire or transportation district – with an elected board and accountability provisions to ensure dollars are spent as intended.

Measure 7A is asking voters to create a new early childhood service district and approve a sales tax to fund that new district. The service district is a division of local government akin to a transportation district, fire district or school district. It is not typical practice to include a sunset provision in the establishment of a new service district. Voters could, of course, run a measure to repeal or dissolve the service district at a future date, if they deemed it was not effective.

The elected Board that runs the service district will be responsible for adopting financial policies and setting an annual budget. We expect that Board will adopt best practices adhered to by most public entities, including complying with sunshine laws, engaging competent auditors and publishing annual reports. (See pg 8 of the service plan available here.) The initial financial plan included as part of the service plan that was submitted to and approved by Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle Counties outlined a sample budget that had administrative costs at less than 5% of total budget in the first full year of program operations (See pg 14 of service plan available here). This administrative cost estimate was based on similar early childhood programs operating in Denver, Summit and San Miguel Counties with administrative overhead in the range of 5% to 8% of total revenue.

The service district will be run by a publicly elected Board, with each member representing one of five geographically defined regions within the service district. (You can find information about the five board seats and see who is running to represent each set at https://www.strongstartbrightfuture.com/ballot-board ) We expect that Board will adopt best practices adhered to by most public entities, including complying with sunshine laws, engaging competent auditors and publishing annual reports. (See pg 8 of the service plan available here.) Ultimately, it is up to voters and tax payers to hold the district accountable.

The service plan approved by Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin Counties clearly delineates who is eligible for funds in the “Eligibility to Receive Services” section on pg 7 (service plan available here). As you’ll see, both the families and child care providers must be located within the geographic boundary of the service district to be eligible. 

We envision that tuition assistance funds will be paid directly to child care providers, on behalf of families, to off-set or reduce the cost of care being provided on a per child basis. Family choice re: the setting of care is important, so the service plan calls on the district to work with “a broad range of early care and education providers, including but not limited to public schools, charter schools, community-based childcare and / or home-based child care” providers. (See pg 5 of the service plan available here.) Since dollars are paid to child care providers on behalf of families, we do not believe there is a risk of families using these dollars for other purposes.

The service plan that was submitted to and approved by the Commissioners of Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle Counties required us to specifically address construction of facilities. On page 10 we state: “The District does not intend to construct any facilities or buildings…the District intended to accomplish its objectives primarily through grantmaking and direct service payments to early childhood development service provider operating within the District” (service plan available here). If a child care provider was proposing to expand an existing facility or build new capacity, they could apply for grant funds from the district to do so. We expect that any such grant application would include the applicant to justify the need for construction of new facilities.