EXACT SAME COVERAGE UP TO HALF THE COST.

tending their program.

Bright noted that under the Colorado Preschool Program he received funding for the entire school year starting in August with monthly payments through May, contingent on his facilities having all seats funded by the state lled with kids by Nov. 1.

He doesn’t see another option other than a delayed start for kids who enroll late.

“I would drown my company if I were to provide services that I was not paid for,” he said.

Bright and other preschools are also worried about having to shutter centers altogether.

One of the six ABC Child Development Centers Bright owns that is participating in universal preschool has 12 classrooms, only three of which are full with kids whose families have opted into universal preschool. He needs all classrooms full to stay nancially whole at the center, which mostly serves low-income families.

He expects all the classrooms to ll by November, but to keep the school open until then, he needs the upfront funding from the state. If the school stays open with empty classrooms, he’ll have to lay o teachers and will be unable to accept new students until the state pays their tuition.

Meanwhile, Melissa Lelm, director of Early Childhood University in Greeley, has enrolled only 33 students through universal preschool, far short of the 96 licensed spots in her center. e state has matched another 10 students with her facility, but though Lelm has repeatedly called and emailed those families to encourage them to accept their match, she’s been met with silence. At the same time, she has to renew her lease this year with her landlord wanting to raise her rent.

“I don’t know if we’ll be in busi-