Convincing Denver Voters that Preschool Matters
What Could Be
Denver residents with and without children could see the community-wide value of early childhood education enough to help families across the city pay for it
Should Be
Voters chose to fund the Denver Preschool Program through a sales tax used to help families find and enroll in a quality preschool of their choice
The beginnings of the Denver Preschool Program date back to the early 1990s, when former Mayor Wellington Webb championed multiple initiatives to elevate the value of early childhood education in Denver. In 2000 and 2001, he took on his biggest bets by proposing sales tax increases to fund a wide range of programs to benefit children from the most underserved communities. Both times, Denver voters said “no thanks” to the “kid tax.”
In 2003, when former Mayor John Hickenlooper was elected, he launched Invest in Success, an early childhood initiative that included the mayor’s Early Childhood Education Commission and the Leadership Team for Early Childhood Education.
With a strong belief in the value of early childhood education and no intention of taking no for an answer from Denver voters, Sam Gary facilitated much of the work of the mayor’s commission and leadership team. Inspired by the idea that business, policy and philanthropy can and should work together to solve community problems, Sam combined resources from his energy company and his foundation to develop the pillars for a new taxpayer-funded early childhood program and the policy and advocacy campaign needed to make it a reality.
The new early childhood education program in Denver needed to:
- Be independent of city government, but accountable to elected leaders and taxpayers;
- Focus on quality rating and improvement of preschool programs;
- Empower parents to choose the early education program best for their children;
- Be equitable with sliding-scale tuition support for families at every income level; and
- Prioritize children in the year just before kindergarten (primarily, 4-year-olds).
“There certainly would be no Denver Preschool Program without Sam Gary. I told Sam this would be hard to pass unless we bring people together and have a real broad-based process. If you look at all the people who worked with us, there were over 100 people and there was this positive energy that really started with Sam and Nancy.”
Former Mayor John HickenlooperReflecting on the formation of the Denver Preschool Program 20 years later
The PRESCHOOL MATTERS CAMPAIGN
With the failure of previous sales tax initiatives in recent view, Gary worked with the mayor’s commission and leadership team to fund and implement the Preschool Matters campaign. The goal was to generate awareness among voters, while simultaneously working behind the scenes to develop ballot measure language, gauge public support, identify potential obstacles and build relationships with key stakeholders and partners — particularly Denver City Council members.
BALLOT QUESTION 1A
The Preschool Matters campaign launched in April 2006 and featured ballot question 1A, which called for the creation of a $12 million-a-year program that would cost residents 12 cents on every $100 purchase – raising Denver’s sales-tax rate to 7.72%. The funds would be used to support two explicit outcomes.
1: Preschool Access
Funds must maximize access to and participation in preschool for all 4-year-old’s in Denver in order to improve school readiness and academic success.
2: Preschool Quality
Funds must promote quality improvement of preschool programs available to all eligible children.
Ballot Question 1A Passes
The race to pass question 1A won by just 1,815 votes. In the end, voters approved the creation of the Denver Preschool Program and its tax revenue, which could be used for seven explicit purposes.
1
Administrative Expenses
2
Tuition Credits
3
Community Outreach
4
Enrollment Assistance
5
Preschool Provider Support
6
Quality Improvement
7
Program Evaluation
Twenty Years of Impact
After years of proven success, the Denver Preschool Program received a voter-approved tax increase in 2014, which allowed the program to provide year-round tuition support for families and the ability to serve 3-year olds.
In 2023, voters reauthorized the Denver Preschool Program indefinitely—affirming its impact on thousands of children and families through innovative programs, educator support, and policy and advocacy. Today, the program serves as a national model for early childhood in Colorado and across the country.
