Why Boulder County’s Ballot Measure 1A is Important

Devin Edgley-Wells (she)

1 day ago

2 min read

If your brain is full of ballot measures by now, I get it. So I’ll keep this short, and I’ll start with a story instead of a technicality.

Before we enrolled our son in daycare, we toured six childcare centers across Boulder County. Cost, location, and programming all mattered. But the biggest challenge we faced was simply finding an open spot. We visited 6 different childcare facilities in the county before we made a decision where our son would be enrolled for daycare. What if we could increase the availability of programming for our children by voting YES on 1A?

There are so many great childcare programs in Boulder County. In our search for the right fit, we went through tours and heard about the programs offered. We were excited for our son and the new adventures these potential facilities could provide. In some cases, the joy of finding a good fit was stalled by the realization that we couldn’t secure a spot, with waiting lists of months, sometimes years.

This was our story, and unfortunately it's the story of other families in Boulder County as well. This is why we need 1A.

What 1A actually does

Ballot measure 1A is a modest property tax increase (2.579 mills) dedicated to early childhood care and education in Boulder County. The money would go to three things:

Lowering the cost of child care and preschool for families
Raising pay for childcare teachers and staff so providers can hire and keep good people
Expanding capacity so more children can be served and waitlists get shorter

We need 1A to provide crucial funding to our daycare facilities so they can increase their hiring capacity, and hopefully, expand availability. More options means more chances for employment. More chances for employment means more money coming into our economy. 1A means more time for more options.

Whether you’re a parent or not, you live in Boulder County with families, businesses, and other people who understand funding for early childhood education is a catalyzing measure that will better the lives of so many of our neighbors. 1A could offer more opportunities for families to enroll in childcare at the time they need it, not offer promises of childcare months and years down the road.

There’s a large benefit to this ballot measure at a small cost. Join me in changing lives in Boulder County by voting YES on 1A.