A nonprofit preschool in Bayfield plans to expand its operations for early childhood education in La Plata County.
Bayfield Early Education Programs has purchased a parcel of land directly behind its existing facility at 645 Fox Farm Circle in Bayfield. BEEP’s director of marketing Carol Taylor said the land will eventually be used to expand the preschool’s educational offerings.
“We’ve purchased the land with the plan to expand our facilities,” Taylor said. “We understand the child care crisis in our in our area, and we're hoping to be able to help alleviate that in some way.”
Taylor said BEEP has been serving Bayfield and La Plata County since 1994, including offering educational opportunities to children with disabilities. The land purchase is meant to build on the legacy the preschool has established in the area and meet the increasing demand for preschool in the growing community.
“(Education is) an important part of our community,” Taylor said. “We’re really excited to expand, because we understand the need in the community. Being able to increase the amount of kids we can take every year and families we can help is huge.”
Taylor said purchasing the land behind BEEP’s existing building is a big milestone. However, since it is so early in the process, the specifics of what will be built there are still being determined.
The nonprofit is seeking an owner’s representative to work with the school, the town of Bayfield and La Plata County in the planning, design and construction process of the new facilities.
“This isn't a small task for us,” Taylor said. “We have a small board, small group of people trying to do all this work. When we put out the RFQ (request for quote), we got some really nice local folks that have thrown their names in the hat. We love to work with local as much as we can.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
