The Polis administration says they are working really really, hard, tirelessly in fact, to address massive failures in launching the governor’s prized universal “free” preschool that let down thousands of children this year.
Have they solved the problems?
Well, no.
Are state lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle plenty pissed off about it?
Absolutely.
At a Joint Budget Committee hearing this week, Democrat state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada, and Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer of Brighton were most critical of the program’s rollout that saw hours cut for 10,000 children.
From CBS Colorado:
Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer demanded to know why program administrators changed rules around who qualified at the eleventh hour, “two weeks before school starts you pulled the rug out from parents, school districts and private providers. It’s not about the money – Governor I hope you’re listening – it’s not about the money. It’s about you changing the factors, you changing the program, the application and everything two weeks before. I want know who thought that was a great idea.”
The Colorado Sun also chimed in:
Committee members grilled Roy and Odean about how they are addressing problems with preschool enrollment and a system for matching families to available programs that has made it hard for districts to assign kids to preschools. They also banged on the state department for a last-minute change to which kids, and how many, qualify for more than 15 hours per week and echoed providers’ concerns about whether the state has set up schools and providers to adequately serve children with disabilities.
“Who are you hearing from that is telling you these issues are resolved?” Kirkmeyer asked department leaders. “Because I have not heard from one person, one school district that has said these issues are resolved.”
What makes it so confusing for parents, schools, and the Polis bureaucracy to enroll four-year old children in universal “free” preschool?
It sure sounds like it’s all the box checking to decide which children were more deserving of others for the “universal” program.
For example, some homeless children were rejected because parents failed to list a second qualifying factor of low income to get the full 30 hours of free childcare, Colorado Public Radio reported.
So we are to assume the homeless children of parents who don’t work are more deserving than homeless children whose parent have a job
Universal is supposed to mean applicable in all cases, just not when it comes to progressive governing.
