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Olsen: Scholarship program benefits the whole community

Scholarship program benefits the whole community

I believe that the town of Breckenridge [child care] scholarship program was voted to be discontinued solely on the grounds that it was a “tax” or that people disagreed with the “property tax” idea. What some people don’t realize is that this small tax would benefit the town (and the county) in more ways than most people could possibly imagine. At this point we must move forward and figure out how help our families remain a part of this community.

My husband and I have lived and worked in Summit County for 20 years. We have been fortunate enough to be a recipient of a scholarship since 2010 when our daughter was 18 months old and started at Little Red Schoolhouse. We both work full time in Breckenridge and wanted a loving, nurturing and educational place for our little girl. Little Red Schoolhouse was the obvious choice for us and we were able to get a small scholarship to help us give her this experience. Little Red became a home away from home. Of course we would prefer to be with our daughter more often, but because we love to live and play in Summit County, we both need to work full time and therefore have to enroll her in preschool. Because of the town of Breck scholarship, we have been able to afford to have our daughter in a fantastic school and still live and play in Summit. We contribute to the economy in Summit County by running a local business, shopping for all our needs at local stores, occasionally dining out at locally owned restaurants, etc. just like any other normal family.



The schools that benefit from the town of Breckenridge scholarship program are able to maintain a very high standard of care and education by being able to hire and pay quality teachers who remain loyal because the schools pay them enough to live in and enjoy Summit County. The teachers are provided with further education in order to care for and teach our beloved children, and assist us in being better parents. It is a career for these teachers and not just another job. That is evident in everything they do.

Having our children attend a preschool is vital to our community. Most families have two working parents and are unable to spend their days at home. They are concerned about their children’s future and concentrate on teaching them love, generosity and respect. These parents choose a preschool with these values in mind. We all want to prepare our children for life with a good education and this begins in preschool. The Breckenridge-area preschools are able to provide all of these things in large part because of the scholarship program. Many families need this program in order to have access to the schools and the wonderful “home away from home” qualities they provide.



The scholarship not only benefits those families with children in preschool but also keeps our community local. It allows families to live and work here. Without these programs that the town of Breckenridge has so thoughtfully developed over the years, we would see young families leaving the area to raise their families, as was the case before the scholarship program was developed.

Without the town of Breckenridge scholarship program, these schools will struggle to uphold the current quality that they offer. Our children are growing up in one of the most beautiful places in the world and will eventually become local restaurant owners, entrepreneurs, politicians, world-renowned athletes, ski area and resort managers, etc. Don’t we want to start them off the right way?

Please come to the town council meeting on Nov. 26 to show your support for the future of the community.

Julie Olsen

Breckenridge


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