A new, special district between Aspen and Parachute could alleviate stress among parents in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys searching for affordable child care. However, several Pitkin County commissioners were hesitant about the proposal from Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition (CECE) on Tuesday, worried it was inefficient.
If approved by voters, this new district would impose a regional 0.25% sales tax. Groceries, gas, medicine, feminine hygiene products, and other necessities would be exempt.
In a work session on Feb. 11, Commissioner Patti Clapper worried that regional voters will push back since several counties and municipalities between Aspen and Parachute already have taxes in place to support child care initiatives.
“I think this is a need, but the city of Aspen had an issue (in) prior years about double taxation,” Commissioner Patti Clapper said in a work session on Tuesday. “They already have a sales tax that funds child care.”
Eagle County also has a lodging tax that partially funds child care.
Proponents of the new tax argue that up and downvalley economies rely on each other, and a regional response to child care deficiencies is necessary to adequately tackle the problem.
Trey Rogers, an attorney based in Denver, has been working with CECE to develop this proposal for several years.
He told commissioners that existing funding sources are inadequate.
“We're adding another drop in the bucket on top of the current funding available,” Rogers said. “We don't have that kind of resource in Western Eagle County or in Garfield County. … For many of those parents, a better option would be to have child care closer to their home, to have it in Garfield County or in Eagle County. Our program would permit that.”
According to an annual survey conducted by Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition, Pitkin County has enough child care slots for 54% of children under 5 years old. However, Garfield County can only serve 37% of children under 5 years old – leaving 2,511 kids without access to licensed child care.
Despite established need, Clapper warned the coalition that it has a lot of work to do in the next 10 months to gain necessary approvals for its proposed district.
To establish a special child care district, Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition needs Pitkin, Eagle, and Garfield County commissioners to approve its service plan before it can collect signatures and qualify to add a tax question to November 2025 ballots.
While commissioners supported increased funding for child care, some raised concerns about CECE’s financial plan, including Jeffrey Woodruff, who criticized the coalition’s proposed expenses, calling it a bad investment.
“If you're a nonprofit, we would say we would give somewhere else,” Woodruff said. “This is not a good-looking balance sheet.”
CECE’s staff is planning to follow up with Woodruff to get more specific feedback about his concerns, and Rogers said the district’s initial financial plan is expected to change.
Potential tax revenue for 2026 is still an estimate, and officials elected to represent the district board would be responsible for passing an official budget.
Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury was more supportive, pointing to potential economic benefits of a robust, local child care system.
“For every one child that we're putting in child care, that's two parents that get to go work.” McNicholas Kury said. “The cost of living concerns here, and the income inequality that we experience here, this is one of the ways where we can actually try and start to make a positive recalibration. … It's not just a handout. It's a real, I think, fundamental structural support.”
If passed, a special child care district in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys would be the first of its kind in Colorado. State legislators passed a bill in 2018 allowing local governments to form special tax districts benefiting child care centers and families, but it has not been implemented yet.
Commissioners will review the coalition’s service plan on Feb. 26 before it schedules a public hearing.
