DENVER — Four-year-old Christian is supposed to start full-day preschool this month, if only his family could afford it.
He earned a slot at Webber Elementary School in Arvada, but his mom got an email that thousands of preschool parents received last month that said they would only receive half-day funding from the state, not the full-day funding they thought they were getting.
“I found out on July 28 that I would have to pay $500 a month for the full-time spot,” said Christian’s mom Shawn Thomas.
State law provides half-day preschool funding for students. Half-day preschool is 15 hours. State-funded full-day preschool is new, and for thousands of parents who were approved for a full-day slot, they found out in an email last month that acceptance into a slot did not equal funding to cover the seat.
“Thought everything was good until we got that email about a week-and-a-half ago, and now everything’s a mess,” said Anna Anderson.
Her child, Liam, has a full-day preschool slot in Commerce City. She thought it was going to be paid for by the state.
“He qualified for that based on income factors,” Anderson said. “Surprise, now you have to pay almost $1,000 a month.”
When the state opened applications for full-day preschool, it listed five qualifying factors that would be prioritized for funding:
- Household income below 270% of the 2023 federal poverty guideline
- Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- Homelessness
- Dual language learner
- Foster/Kinship care
Last month, the state changed the qualifications for full-day funding to low-income “AND” one of the other four qualifying factors. The 438-page universal preschool legislation allowed for that change.
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“I feel like there were some promises made that have not materialized even close to their potential,” said Janisa Tharp.
Tharp, who qualified as low income, has a full-day spot in Castle Rock for her child, Christian. Again, only if she pays half the tuition.
“Over $800 a month. The tuition is two-thirds of our rent. Even paying half of that, that’s more than our car payment and car insurance combined. There’s absolutely no way that can fit into our budget,” Tharp said. “We don’t have a need for him to be cared for so that we can work, we just simply had a need for him to be exposed to some preschool.”
State-funded preschool is a signature promise of Gov. Jared Polis’ (D) second term.
According to a spokesman for Polis, 41,461 applications have been submitted for half-day and full-day preschool. As of Friday, 36,650 students have been matched.
As of July 19, 3,774 families were notified that they were eligible for full-day funding paid for by the state. Those families were low-income and had at least one other qualifying factor.
There were 9,150 families that listed one qualifying factor, and those are the families that are not getting the full-day funding they thought they received.
“I’m a single mom that works full-time, and it’s a struggle just to pay the mortgage and the bills,” Anderson said. “To come up with the money by August 15, if those 15 hours don’t come through again right away, then he might not be starting on time.”
For Thomas, that last minute added expense is not going to fit in with her budget.
She has applied for additional state assistance from the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program For Families.
“I wish I knew a little sooner that I would have to pay $500 a month because I’m scrambling to apply for this funding, and if I knew earlier, I could have applied, like, six months ago,” Thomas said. “That’s like half of what I make in a month.”
Alan Greening found out from that July email that his son, Grant, did not have full-day state money.
“We drove past the school today and every time we go pass it, he says ‘that’s my school.’ And I, sort of, broke it to him gently that his teachers might be different this year, we might have to go to another school. To which he replied, ‘I don’t want to go to another school,’” Greening said.
That school is in the Adams 12 Five Star School District.
“Obviously, that created a lot of upset among many of our parents,” said Adams 12 Chief Academic Officer Beau Foubert.
Adams 12 determined that it would cover the full-day cost for 96 families that thought they were getting state money, but are not getting it after all.
“We estimate that cost to be around $500,000,” Foubert said. “We’re going to use one-time district funds that are set aside for exactly these sorts of contingencies and unexpected outcomes.”
Aurora Public Schools will also cover the full-day preschool costs for 1,000 students. A spokesman for the district said that would cost up to $1 million.
“It’s still too early in the budgeting process to say precisely where that money will come from,” said Aurora Public Schools spokesman Corey Christiansen.
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