As we get closer to the end of the year, Summit County Council is in the process of finalizing its 2024 budget. While it is great to see the county starting to invest in early care and education, our community must let council members know that our young children are a top priority and deserve substantial community investment.
Access to high-quality, affordable early care and education options for our working families is essential for our kids, our working parents, our current and future workforce, our economy, and our community-at-large. Just like K-12 education, high-quality early care and education benefits everyone. Enriching early learning opportunities are critical to brain development and lead to improved outcomes in school and later in life.
Where We Are Now:
Based upon the findings of the Summit County Childcare Needs Assessment, the Early Childhood Alliance submitted a $3 million proposal to Summit County to further improve access to and affordability of high-quality early care and education options for Summit County residents who will not qualify for assistance from Park City’s $1 million investment.
In the current Manager’s Budget Presentation, Summit County is proposing $150,000 towards Summit County employee childcare support. “Childcare expenses outside of meeting organizational needs” is included in the group of unfunded programs that merit additional discussion. Our community needs to prioritize our children’s early care and education in order to move childcare from the “unfunded programs” list into the actual budget.
Unlike funding for our children in the K-12 program (the Park City Education Foundation estimates 96% of our state-collected education tax dollars leave Park City), all of these local dollars will support our local kids and working parents.
Get Involved!
Summit County’s budget is finalized in early December, which means the next two months are critical. Please let our elected representatives know that greater accessibility to high-quality early care and learning is a worthwhile investment because it will benefit future generations by increasing regional economic growth, providing access to higher-salary jobs, and reducing government welfare dependency.
Here’s what you can do:
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Email: Let our council members know that accessible and affordable early care and education is essential to the well-being of our community at large and that you support investing local public funds in our local kids. CountyCouncil@summitcounty.org.
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Speak: The County Council meets on Wednesdays and typically takes public comment at 6 p.m. Meeting details and agendas are available here. You can go in person or comment via Zoom. Sign up for a time slot here.
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Follow and Share: We will try to keep everyone updated on Instagram, Facebook, and through our webpage. Please follow and share with your own networks.
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Join: Join community members who are organizing and planning. Join their email list here.
New To This Issue? Here’s Some Background:
As a strategic initiative of Park City Community Foundation, the Early Childhood Alliance advocates for public investment to support access to high-quality early care and education. Visit our advocacy page to learn more and read the latest update on our work in this blog post.