In a time of increased partisanship and highly competitive elections, Colorado is illustrating its dedication to achieve bipartisan results for children. Business leaders and politicians from both sides of the aisle agree that Proposition EE will help with the state’s economic recovery and create a future where every child in Colorado has an opportunity to thrive. Now, with only days to go before the election, the power rests in the hands of voters.
It’s easy to allow the rhetoric of election season to distract us from issues that truly matter to people. With this in mind, we cannot allow quality early childhood education for our children to be ignored. Prior to the pandemic, 50,000 children in Colorado under the age of five were living in poverty and only 30 percent of 4-year-olds in the state were being served by public preschool. These are alarming numbers, especially when coupled with the fact that by the age of 5, a child’s brain is nearly fully developed.