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Children drawing and making crafts in kindergarten or daycare.

County support puts childcare measure one step closer to going to voters

Proposed early childhood development service district seeking approval of 0.25% sales tax

PRESS RELEASE
March 18, 2025

Garfield County has approved an effort by the Confluence Early Childhood Development Service District to seek voter approval of a 0.25 percent sales tax to help support childcare services in Garfield and Pitkin counties, as well as the portion of Eagle County, which lies in the Roaring Fork School District.

If passed by voters, the service district would be created to help provide financial support for both families seeking early childhood development programs, and providers of services, such as day care and preschool, from Parachute to Aspen. If approved, the district would be led by an elected five-member board of directors, all of which would serve four-year terms and must reside within the district they represent.

Garfield County determined that the amended service plan, which was prepared by the Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition (CECE), met the criteria, including adequate need, to be placed on the ballot. CECE is focused on providing tuition assistance for early childcare and education programs for families with children in the district; establishing a grant program that supports childcare providers, encouraging greater enrollment capacity for high quality early childhood education programs; and improving outreach and assistance services to connect families and providers.

“The CECE coalition is a group of education, nonprofit, business, and parent leaders from Parachute to Aspen who have been working together since 2017 on this regional proposal to improve access to early childhood care and education,” said Maggie Tiscornia, director of the coalition. “The service plan proposes the creation of an early childhood development special district, a type that was authorized by the state Legislature in 2019. … this would be the first of its kind in the state.”

Proposed operating revenue from sales and use taxes for the district’s first year is projected to be $10,516,433, and not to exceed $12,100,000, according to the proposal.

“The district will take advantage of unique statutory authority to provide children in this area with improved access to, and help facilitate the delivery of, high quality early childhood development services,” the proposal reads.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 5,120 children under the age of five (3,975 in Garfield County) living in the proposed service district with just 77 providers, 57 of which are in Garfield County. The CECE presentation noted that there are 2,521 available state-licensed slots for non-school-aged children, but only 2,272 opportunities for childcare due to staffing shortages.

CECE’s presentation noted that median monthly tuition costs per child amount to $1,517 for infants, and $1,408 for toddlers and preschoolers, meaning that most families in the proposed district spend between 33 and 37 percent of their monthly income on childcare.

The proposed measure will likely go before voters either later this year or in 2026. The Board of County Commissioners approved the amended service plan unanimously, 3-0. While Garfield County approved the measure, CECE must now obtain approval from Eagle and Pitkin counties.

“Former Sen. (Bob) Rankin sponsored this bill and would be proud that it is moving forward,” added Commissioner Tom Jankovsky. “The point about the economic benefit to this region was well made in the presentation. The national percentage of people who work is roughly 65 percent, so there’s 35 percent of working-age men and women who are not in the workforce for different reasons, one of which is childcare. This can really help our economy.”