Stacy Kessler, a parent and preschool teacher, told Denver City Council on July 21 that cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would harm children served by Head Start and related programs.
Kessler said her 3-year-old attends a Head Start-affiliated school at Dahlia and described how the program’s gardening activities and on-site services affect families. “I eat lettuce, my lettuce,” she quoted her son saying about produce he grew in a Head Start gardening activity. She also described a school visit from a teeth-health program and said, “I have to brush all the way, meaning he has to brush all his teeth,” to illustrate how in-school dental education reaches toddlers.
The comment period is for public input and does not create council policy. Kessler argued that cuts to Medicaid and SNAP would reduce access to programs like in-school dental services and food supports that, she said, prevent downstream medical emergencies and learning loss. She described a case of an eighth grader whose severe diabetes led to seizures and impaired learning, and said reduced preventive services and nutrition supports “will end up costing more money to be spent on medical emergencies, corrective facilities, and law enforcement.”
Speakers during the public-comment period do not make binding policy decisions; no motion, vote, or direction to staff on Medicaid, SNAP, or Head Start was recorded during this session.
Kessler spoke during the council’s general public comment period, which the council limits to 30 minutes; council members did not respond from the dais, consistent with the format announced at the session’s start.
The council will hear formal proposals and budget items in later agenda items or hearings where staff and council can respond with policy or funding recommendations.