The cost of universal pre-K in Colorado: Thousands of at-risk kids got less classroom time
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ signature preschool initiative is serving thousands more families than expected in its first year, but its success has come with a costly downside: Fewer low-income children attend full-day preschool today than before the program launched. The trade-off was laid out in stark terms during Joint Budget Committee hearings last month: The more enrollment grows for universal pre-K, the less state funding will be available for at-risk children to attend full-day preschool. Under Colorado’s previous state-funded preschool program, which ended July 1, more than 6,000 at -risk 4-year-olds received funding for a full-day classroom slot last school year. This year, the state provided only 3,500 full-day slots to the most at -risk kids — even as funding for preschool has increased and overall enrollment exceeds expectations. “Those are the kiddos that we think most need access to preschool,” Melissa Mares, the director of early childhood for the nonprofi...