Harrison School District 2 ends free child care program after COVID-19 relief funding expires; district unable to secure new funding for 2025-26 school year despite seeking grants

April 30, 2025 (Gazette) –

Changes are coming to Harrison School District 2’s popular child care program.

The school district announced this month that it would no longer provide free before and after-school care starting in the 2025-26 school year. The difficult decision comes after its funding, created through temporary COVID-19 relief dollars, expired in January.

In an email sent to families earlier this month, D-2’s chief communications officer Christine O’Brien said the district was able to stretch existing resources through the end of the current school year, but that these services would no longer be available free of charge.

“Like many public school districts across Colorado and the country, we are facing ongoing challenges with both state and federal education funding,” she wrote.

“Despite our best efforts — including actively seeking grant funding to keep this program going — we have not secured the necessary resources to continue offering this service at no cost to families.”

Since fall 2021, D-2 has provided free before and after-school care for its K-5 students at all its elementary schools. Funding came from a portion of its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding while services came from local partnerships with Early Connections Learning Centers (ECLC), the city of Colorado Springs’ Parks and Recreation and Cultural Services and the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region .

Peering over the ESSER cliff: where do local schools stand after historic funding expires?

After four years of historic funding into public education, the Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are set to expire this fall.

These services included physical activity, homework assistance, breakfast and a snack from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. outside of regular school hours.

While other local school districts invested ESSER funds into various needs like infrastructure, academic programs and workforce development, D-2 chose to allocate a portion of its one-time funding toward this program because of the historical lack of affordable child care in the area and frozen incomes from the pandemic lockdowns.

“And so, this program was just a way of lightening the load for these families who had either lost some of their income and were unable to pay their bills,” O’Brien said.

Access to child care remains a struggle across El Paso County , with the local social service nonprofit Joint Initiatives reporting last fall that it had just over 17,400 spots for children up to age 5, while nearly 17,000 spots were still needed.

Exacerbating this need is the cost of child care in Colorado averaging $16,333 , the fifth most expensive state in the country, often forcing parents with multiple children to choose between work and child care.

'Struggling to keep up': Major program freeze signals trouble for Colorado Springs child care industry

In El Paso County , child care providers like Heidi Mather are struggling due to a decline in funding, an enrollment freeze on child care assistance programs, and burdensome regulations. “Families can’t afford the true cost of child care,” says Liz Denson , executive director of Early Connections Learning Centers in Colorado Springs .

The YMCA provides services to Bricker, Monterey, Mountain Vista Community School , Oak Creek , Soaring Eagles Community School and Wildflower Elementary , while the city serves Carmel, Centennial , Giberson, Otero , Stratton Meadows and Turman elementary schools.

Additionally, both providers also partner with schools in Colorado Springs School District 11 , Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 and Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 , but not free of charge.

ECLC has provided preschool services off-and-on to Sand Creek International School dating back to 1992, its President and CEO Liz Denson said. The organization was also notified in early April and then began notifying its families shortly after that it would no longer serve the school.

“Which is really horrible, because a lot of these families have relied on these services for years,” Denson said.

Since the free program debuted, O’Brien said family utilization has “remained really consistent” and that over 1,000 students are now in it. Additional programs that may be cut from expiring ESSER funding include some of the district’s outdoor education and other enrichment programs, though they are also exploring their options with different partnerships.

Jennifer Valenzuela said she has used the program since it’s been an option for her three children and that her youngest child has used it every year. In addition to providing financial relief for her and her husband, both of whom work full time, the program has offered her kids the opportunity to make friends and stay active outside of their regular school time.

Upon learning that the free option would come to an end, Valenzuela said they’re "not sure yet" what they'll do but that they've debated having their child walk to her parents' house after school.

She admits this likely isn’t an option for everybody.

“I’m pretty sure that some families can’t afford regular day care because, from what I hear, it’s pretty steep out there — like, $500 a month,” she said. “So, I’m sure there are going to be some that are hurt [by this].”

The YMCA will continue to serve its current schools and is exploring expanding programming to other schools in the district with a fee-for-service model.

O’Brien said the district is working to solidify new partnerships by next week so licensing can occur at the schools that are changing providers. The rates of services from these providers will also be determined around this time.

Denson said it also has been communicating with families who may qualify for other services it provides.

“We’re really sad that this is coming to an end after 30 years of partnering together, but we’re also incredibly proud of the work we’ve been able to do over that time,” she said.

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