Snowmass pursues state funding for Little Red School House
Council approves seeking $1 million grant
Madison Osberger-Low/The Aspen Times
Snowmass Town Council will seek a state grant to augment funding for the Little Red School House renovation.
Council unanimously decided Monday to pursue $1 million in grant funding through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the state’s department responsible for local government assistance, getting them one step closer to funding the design. The new design, which will be built to the south of the 1894 school house, will double the childcare capacity and has a new footprint seven times the size of the facility.
“This is the biggest single grant we’re going for right now,” said Town Manager Clint Kinney.
With a projected cost of $8.5 million, the town plans to allot $6.5 million of its annual budget to the construction, leaving them with a $2 million shortfall. Council has so far secured $240,000 from Pitkin County to put toward the project, and will know if they’ve received the $1 million Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund Grant in the next six months, according to Kinney.
The state funding comes from oil and gas tax, Kinney said.
“They’ve identified early education as a project of theirs,” he said of the state. “I would say last year we would have probably had a great chance with this. With the state budget cuts, when the state cuts budgets, they usually raid this fund, so we’ll see.”
The state reportedly faces a $1.2 billion budget hole as of late February, cutting contributions to food pantries and therapy programs, among others, reported Monday in The Colorado Sun.
Kinney added they’re also discussing a $200,000 donation form a private donor for playground equipment.
Council approved in late January the architectural design for construction of the new building south of Little Red. The new design would increase the childcare capacity from 30 to 60 students, and would expand parking from roughly 16 spaces to 38 spaces. The historic building would not be altered during construction.
At 5,650 square feet, the new building more than triples the area of the total existing facility space, which includes Little Red and the “auxiliary building,” a bank relocated behind Little Red in the 1980s for childcare, currently serving as a toddler care facility. The auxiliary building would be demolished once the new design is finished.
While originally serving students first through ninth grade, Little Red now hosts students aged one through five. The new design would also be able to offer infant care, Christina Holloway, owner and director of Woody Creek Kids Inc, told The Aspen Times in January. Woody Creek Kinds Inc. offers childcare at three different locations in the area, including Little Red.
The expansion would help quell the demand for childcare in the area, as over 90 children were on the waitlist as of January 2025, Holloway said.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
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