Sara Coffey has represented Guilford and Vernon since 2018, and in her work at the State House she always has in mind the best interests of our residents here in southern Vermont.
As a parent of young children who recently attended private preschool programs, and as a public-school early-childhood teacher, I have seen the incredible inequities that exist in our early child care system.
While parents pay upwards of 25 percent of their paychecks to cover child care needs, teachers at private child care and preschool centers in Vermont make a median wage of $13.27 an hour, less than many fast food workers!
Many child care providers also do not receive health care or other benefits. Those of us lucky enough to have jobs in the public school system make a livable wage that allows us to support our families, but so many highly qualified early-childhood educators are barely scraping by.
In a time when national politics are divisive and often hard to swallow, it's imperative that we Vermonters remember to focus attention and energy on state and local races. As a resident of Guilford, an early childhood teacher at Guilford Central School, and a parent of two young children,