PRESCHOOL

FROM PAGE 2 program is listed as a family’s rst choice. When applying, parents and caregivers can select up to ve preschool programs, ranking their preferred programs starting with their top choice. e application is available in English, Spanish and Arabic and takes no more than 15 minutes to complete, Mares said, adding that the state has created the application by asking, “how can we best take (the) burden o of families?”

All 4-year-olds in the state will be eligible for at least 15 hours of free preschool per week — close to a half day of care. Additionally, some ver Cardiology has been holding these events through the national organization Walk with a Doc, which aims to inspire communities through movement and conversation with physician-led walking groups.

“You don’t have to be our patient; it’s open to everyone,” said cardiologist Ira Dauber, who started the South Denver Cardiology chapter after seeing the event hosted by a colleague at National Jewish Health in Denver. “We walk and we talk where we’ve seen more housing development,” she said, citing Central Park and Green Valley Ranch.

State lawmakers will also have their own considerations to make in light of decreasing enrollment, said Tracie Rainey, executive director of the Colorado School Finance Project.

“ ey’re going to have to determine how they’re going to address the overall shortfall in funding for K-12 and determine. Do they want to increase investment in funding even during a time of declining enrollment?” Rainey said.

Much of the funding shortfall stems from the budget stabilization factor — a growing debt the state has owed to schools since the Great Recession hit in 2009. e total of that debt is more than $10 billion, Rainey said, and this school year alone, school funding was cut short by $321 million.

Paying down the budget stabiliza- e state’s newly expanded preschool program was made possible by Colorado taxpayers in 2020, when voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition EE, which raised taxes on cigarettes and other products containing nicotine partly to fund more preschool for Colorado kids.

3-year-olds will qualify for 10 hours of free preschool per week, including those with a disability, from low-income families, facing housing insecurity, learning English or living in foster care.

Providing free hours of preschool to families has been a major goal of Gov. Jared Polis, who has championed early childhood education since he rst ran for governor. Polis touted the launch of the application window for expanded preschool during his State of the State address