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Daily Editorial: The right match

Vail Daily Editorial Board
Vail CO, Colorado

Are taxpayers the only people responsible for supporting young kids who can’t get help elsewhere?

It sure seems like the organizers behind Bright Start think that way. The early-childhood-development program already has received $822,000 in taxpayer funds from Eagle County, with a promise that the commissioners will match money donated from the rest of the community.

So far, Bright Start has shopped their cause around to taxpayer-funded town councils, the school district, and a recreation district.



To be clear here: The Vail Daily supports the county’s decision to fund this cause. We agree that it is society’s responsibility to help the community’s most vulnerable when we can. There are plenty of kids out there who aren’t getting access to health care and dental care, and there are pregnant mothers who need help getting the prenatal care that will assure their babies will have the right start.

We also believe that if our local leaders are serious about trying to keep middle-class families in Eagle County, they need to address the child-care shortage along with the affordable housing shortage.

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We agree with the cause so strongly, we even supported having the county commissioners pony up the $1.5 million for the whole program.

But to say that the community and businesses are embracing the cause seems disingenuous when only publicly-funded agencies Eagle County are being asked to open their pockets. Perhaps businesses are being hit up, and we just aren’t hearing about it.

In any case, getting businesses involved would certainly help give Bright Start the credibility it needs and deserves.

” Tamara Miller for the Editorial Board


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