At a regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 3, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) pledged $10,000 to match funds that will be appropriated to the Archuleta County Early Care and Early Child Education Work Group.
Specifically, agenda documentation for the meeting states the funds would be used
“to help hire a part time person as the coordinator of the newly organized Early Care and Early Child Education Work Group.”
The grant was originally offered by the El Pomar Foundation, which offered $10,000 contingent on the town and county each matching $10,000, bringing the total amount of funds to $30,000.
The funds will help pay the salary, operational and travel costs of the work group’s new part-time coordinator.
In 2014, Rural Philanthropy Days identified the two main issues that needed to be addressed as affordable housing and early childhood education.
In 2015, the Pagosa Springs Town Council and the BoCC agreed to work together in an effort to combat these issues.
According to agenda documentation, to address the issue of early childhood education, “a work group was formed, under the leadership of Commissioner Michael Whiting and Archuleta School District Superintendent Linda Reed. This volunteer group was tasked with researching the issue and submitting recommendations to the town council and county commissioners for potential solutions.”
The documentation goes on to explain that because both Whiting and Reed have full-time responsibilities, it is believed that a part-time coordinator would greatly benefit the work group.
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