The Pima County Board of Supervisors has approved about $10 million worth of annual contracts to continue offering free preschool to eligible families.
The county works with existing state and federal programs to offer Pima Early Education Program scholarships (PEEPs). Those allow kids from low-income families to attend high quality preschools across the county.
PEEPs were previously supported by Federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. The board’s action this week switches them to the Library District tax levy, a more sustainable, permanent source of cash.
Since the program was created in 2021, it’s served more than 4,000 children, brought new educators into the field and allowed many parents to go back to work.
PEEPs are available to families with 3- or 4-year-old children (and 5-year-olds not in kindergarten) with incomes at or below 300% of the 2025 Federal Poverty Level. That is $96,450 for a family of four.
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