Boulder County 1A: Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase

What It Would Do

Ballot Issue 1A would raise Boulder County property taxes by a fixed mill levy dedicated to three goals: lowering the cost of child care and preschool for county families, increasing pay for early-childhood educators and staff, and expanding child care capacity — especially for infants and toddlers — to shrink the county's long waitlists. No more than 10% of the revenue could go to administrative costs.

Fiscal Impact

The measure increases the mill levy by 2.579 mills, expected to raise about $30 million a year starting in the 2027 tax collection year. For a typical Boulder County home, that works out to roughly $115 a year in additional property tax (the county's own example uses a $725,000 home; on a $1 million home, the added cost is closer to $163 a year).

Why We're Voting Yes

Boulder Progressives supports 1A because, for a modest annual cost to homeowners, it would make child care more affordable for local families, provide additional compensation opportunities for early childhood educators, and open up badly needed capacity to shrink long waitlists.

Sources: Boulder County official ballot issues page (bouldercounty.gov), Boulder Reporting Lab, and Yellow Scene Magazine.