In November, Boulder County voters will decide whether to raise property taxes to subsidize childcare costs.
The ballot measure is meant to address the shortage and high cost of childcare by subsidizing care for families and helping providers expand the number of available slots. If passed, it would raise property taxes by 2.579 mills — meaning the owner of a home valued at $1 million would pay about $163 more in taxes each year. The tax would generate about $30 million annually for the county.
Supporters say the money is desperately needed amid a childcare crisis. Infant and toddler care costs between $20,000 and $23,000 per child annually in Boulder County, consuming an estimated 24% to 35% of a family’s household income, according to the campaign supporting the measure. Survey data from the campaign also suggests that licensed providers have space for only about one in four infants who need care in the county.
“We know that affordability is a crisis. We know that we have a shortage of slots for infants and toddlers, and we know that our childcare providers are not able to make a living wage in our community. Those are the things we want to tackle,” said Kaycee Headrick, CEO of the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, one of several organizations in Brighter Start Boulder County, a coalition supporting the ballot measure.
On July 23, Boulder County commissioners voted unanimously to place the measure on the ballot.
“Early childhood care and education pays dividends, and it’s not just economic dividends, although those are many,” said Commissioner Claire Levy. “The return on investment estimates are between $4 and $13 in return for every dollar that’s spent. It shows up in educational attainment, employment, health, truancy, criminality. This is something that taxpayers need to fund for the betterment of all of us.”
The campaign’s listed supporters include the cities of Boulder and Longmont, state Sen. Judy Amabile and state Rep. Junie Joseph, Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett and the CEOs of major county family resource centers, including Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), Sister Carmen Community Center and OUR Center.
According to Brighter Start Boulder County, revenue from the measure would help fund a new tuition assistance program for families earning up to $150,000 a year, help childcare providers add infant and toddler slots and support grants for employee retention and workforce development.
Within three years of full implementation, the Brighter Start Boulder County coalition hopes to reduce out-of-pocket childcare costs for participating families to between 7% and 15% of household income. Its goals also include increasing licensed infant and toddler slots by at least 30% and reducing employee turnover to 18% or less.
Childcare costs remain high even as providers struggle to make ends meet and childcare workers remain among the lowest paid in Colorado. That tension stems partly from the labor-intensive nature of the work. The state mandates teacher-to-child ratios ranging from 1:5 for infants to 1:15 for children age 5 and older, limiting how many children each employee can supervise and making it difficult for providers to reduce costs.
Advocates emphasize the importance of early childhood education to children’s future educational and emotional success. Brain development is most rapid during the first five years of a child’s life. But they also cite economic concerns. In 2024, 33% of parents of one-year-olds quit or changed jobs to meet childcare needs, according to a state survey.
The Early Childhood Council of Boulder County has contributed $35,000 to the campaign supporting the tax measure. As of Sept. 11, no organized campaign had emerged to oppose the measure. Recent votes on childcare taxes elsewhere in Colorado have been close. In 2025, a similar measure passed in Larimer County with just 51% of the vote.
If passed, the county would begin collecting the tax in January 2027. Supporters expect funding distributions to begin in the middle of the year, with full implementation by January 2028. Boulder County would oversee all tax revenues, but the measure would allow the county to contract with community partners to administer some of the funding. Administrative costs would be capped at 10% of annual revenue. The tax would remain in effect unless Boulder County voters later repealed or revised it.
County child care assistance has been frozen for two years
The proposal comes as Boulder County faces a particularly challenging childcare landscape.
New enrollments in Boulder County’s Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, have been frozen for about two years, leaving eligible families without assistance. CCAP, which is largely federally funded, pays childcare providers directly to cover all or part of tuition for low-income families.
Headrick now estimates that at least 900 children in Boulder County qualify for the program but aren’t receiving assistance, and children are aging out of the program before reaching the top of the waitlist.
“It’s devastating,” she said.
At the same time, Trump administration officials are drafting a plan that would allow married couples with a stay-at-home spouse to receive subsidies from the federal fund that supports CCAP. If finalized, the rule could go into effect as soon as next year, potentially redirecting money away from childcare providers and current recipients, 80% of whom are single working parents.
The CCAP enrollment freeze was a key concern for commissioners when they placed the measure on the ballot in July. Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann said she expected much of the tax revenue to go toward closing the CCAP funding gap.
“We have a federal government who has turned its back on the American people,” Commissioner Marta Loachamin said.
“Childcare is at a crisis level right now, and if nothing is done, it will continue to get worse very fast,” Headrick said. “It is time for our community to come together and come up with a solution for Boulder County children and families.”
