Proposition NN Was Built for School Districts

Follow the money. Then follow the lobbyists.

Last week we told you your Board voted to recommend a No vote on Proposition NN. That vote was not unanimous, and it was not easy. Everyone in the room wants funding for this industry. In the end, the maybes for child care in prop nn did not outweigh the guarantees for K-12.

This week, here is the record behind that vote.

What Prop NN does

Prop NN is on your November 3 ballot. It lets the state keep money it already collects above the cap set by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), instead of refunding it to you. That money goes to K-12 first, with required raises for school districts every year. The law also allows leftover money to go to disability services, school services, child care, and preschool.  Any funding for the early childhood fund is time limited and temporary as the formula will phase out payments to the fund.  It does not change your tax rate.

K-12 first. Child care last. That order is the whole measure.

Who paid to put it on your ballot

Campaign finance filings are public, so we pulled them. Here is the Yes for Colorado Kids committee as of its September 21 report:

• $2,029,320 raised

• $1,210,044 already spent

• 96 cents of every dollar from just two sources: Gary Advocacy and the Colorado Education Association (the statewide teachers union)

• $819,276 still in the bank for the final weeks

That is $2 million raised in about four months. You will see that money in mailers, digital ads, and TV before November 3.

Two million dollars to pass a measure that gives licensed child care no guaranteed share.   The legislature is gearing up to discuss researching the creation of a public option for 0-5 child care.  Combine the initiative and the public option and ask yourself what happens to your business.

Who showed up at the Capitol

Colorado lobbyists have to report their client's position on every bill. Here is how Senate Bill 26-135, the bill that became Prop NN, broke down:

• For: education associations, school districts, school boards, boards of cooperative educational services, labor organizations, and children's advocacy groups.

• Against: Christian Home Educators of Colorado, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, and El Paso County.

• Wanted changes: the Colorado Charter School Institute, Denver Public Schools, the Education Alliance of Colorado, and the Southern Colorado Springs Alliance.

• Just watching: chambers of commerce, counties, hospitals, libraries, and several policy groups.

Read the "for" list again. Not one licensed child care business. Not one association for privately owned centers or family child care homes.

Here is what that tells you

When you can see who lined up behind a measure, you can see who it was written for.

This started as a school district bill, and it stayed a school district bill. The child care and preschool language showed up late, in a measure that was written, funded, and lobbied from start to finish by and for the K-12 system. ECEA tracked it the whole way, from introduction to ballot title. It is not a child care funding measure. It is a school district funding measure with a line near the end that mentions child care.

So we asked the obvious question: if dollars do flow to child care, who decides how they get split, and do privately owned licensed programs get access?

The closest thing to an answer we have gotten is, "They are working on the implementation piece."

Where your Board landed

No on Proposition NN. Child care gets no guaranteed share. School districts get first claim and a guaranteed floor. The change to TABOR does not expire. Our full breakdown of the formula is in last week's update.

School districts are your competition for four-year-olds, and soon for three-year-olds. This measure makes them stronger every year, with your refund.

What you can do this week

1. Vote No on Prop NN on November 3. If you disagree with us, vote yes. It is your ballot.

2. Talk to your families and your staff. They vote too, and this is their program.  If you agree with us share out this flyer.

3. Ask us for the spreadsheet. We built a line-by-line list of every lobbyist, client, and position on Senate Bill 26-135. Reply to this email and we will send it.

4. Book time with ECEA to talk through what this means for your program.

Want to check our work?

• Lobbying positions: Colorado Secretary of State lobbyist search, by bill number, at coloradosos.gov/lobby

• Campaign finance: TRACER, the Secretary of State's database. Search the committee Yes for Colorado Kids, ID 20265052137.

• Bill text: Senate Bill 26-135 at leg.colorado.gov, plus the 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet (the Blue Book).

We are in the meetings so you do not have to be. We elevate your voice.  If prop NN passes, we will be in the rooms advocating for the best implementation for you if any funds actually come out of it.

Together we are stronger.

Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado | coloradoecea.org

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