In the News

Multnomah County expands ‘Preschool for All’ program

In Oregon, Multnomah County recently announced that its “Preschool for All” program is growing this year, with leaders announcing that 3,800 children will be served through the free education initiative in the next school year. It’s a significant increase from the 2,200 or so slots that were available during the 2024-2025 school year.

Preschool for All is a program funded by an income tax on Multnomah County’s highest earners: 1.5% on income above $125,000 dollars for individuals or income above $200,000 for joint filers. It was passed by voters in 2020 and is a remarkable example of funding early education through local initiative.

MECK Pre-K growing and seeing early enrollment increase

MECK Pre-K, the high quality pre-K education open to all four-year-old children in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina at no cost to families is reporting growth and increase in early enrollment this year. The Meck Pre-K program says attendance has more than tripled since it launched in 2018. This year alone, officials said the program had over 200 more applications each week when families could start to apply. Applications for the Pr-K program opened at the end of January, and officials said more people are applying earlier this year than in years past. As of March 24, Meck Pre-K received more than 1,700 applications in nine weeks — up 39% compared to the same time in 2022.

Congratulations to MECK Pre-K on their growth and success! You can read more about the program here.

With high U.S. childcare costs, local voters fill funding gap

As U.S. federal funding pandemic aid for childcare runs out, communities are backing local solutions and ballot measures. A lack of affordable childcare takes a huge toll on individual families and the broader economy as well. Local ballot measures have become an increasingly important tool for “communities that were tired and desperate waiting for the federal government, and sometimes states, to act,” said Elizabeth Gaines, chief executive of the Children’s Funding Project.
About 56 local voter-approved children’s funds have been approved across the United States, read the full story here. 

What convinces voters to raise taxes: child care

Earlier this year The Hechinger Report shared the story of increasing local and state driven initiatives focused on pre-K being observed across the country. They begin in New Orleans where a new city-funded program for low-income families called City Seats is helping families find much-needed child care. Read the full story here.

4 Ways Cities Can Provide Business and Financial Supports to the Early Childhood Workforce

The National League of Cities recently featured four strategies for cities to provide business and financial support to their local Early Childhood Workforce. One of the four strategies includes providing financial assistance for childcare business through grants, subsidies and tax incentives specifically designed to alleviate the economic pressures on the early childhood workforce. Click here to read all four and an example of how The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska  secured approval and budget allocation to directly subsidize the ongoing operational costs of local childcare businesses.

Laying the Groundwork for Strategic Public Financing Success in Austin, TX

Laying the Groundwork for Strategic Public Financing Success in Austin, TX

The Children’s Funding Project recently shared a success story out of Austin, TX. The city is the first in the nation to hire a Children’s Funding Coordinator to help identify ways to increase funding and resources for young children through strategic public financing. Read on about how Austin’s Children’s Funding Coordinator worked with local council members and residents to determine that a local ballot measure was a good strategy to offer an opportunity to generate new public funding for infants, toddlers, and other age groups of children.

How Seattle is Creating Early Childhood Programs That Work for Children and Support Providers

The City of Seattle was recognized last week by the National League of Cities for making remarkable strides in early childhood education, driven by the dedicated efforts of its Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL). The Seattle Preschool Program (SPP), which began in 2015, exemplifies this dedication. A collaboration between DEEL, the Seattle Public School District and various community partners, SPP offers subsidized high-quality, evidence-based preschool, with most Seattle families qualifying for free tuition. Read more about the city’s strategies to ensure that every child receives a high-quality early learning experience.

Ready by Five Early Childhood millage renewal passed with huge support

According to unofficial vote tallies as reported by the Kent County Clerk’s office, the Ready by Five’s no-tax increase renewal of .25 mills passed with 70,313 yes votes to 48,787 no votes.

“We are grateful to our residents and voters for the strong support of the early childhood millage and confident that Ready by Five will continue to ensure our children are healthy and ready for kindergarten,” said Jennifer Headley-Nordman, president of First Steps, which administers the Ready by Five millage for Kent County.

The Ready by Five millage has provided funding to 18 community-based organizations. The .25 mill, six-year renewal will generate about $8.8 million in its first year and be used to expand access to early childhood programming. According to Ready by Five, the cost to an owner of a home valued at $300,000 would be about $37.50 per year, or $3.13 per month.

Pre-K 4 SA announces new partnership to expand child care options for military families

Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) and Pre-K 4 SA recently announced a new partnership to expand child care options for military families. Through the partnership, the city says JBSA and Pre-K 4 SA will work together to focus on expanding the network of Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) providers to offer extended hours and weekend availability to meet the needs of military families. “By ensuring our service members’ children have priority access to high-quality early education, we’re not only investing in their future but also enhancing military readiness,” said JBSA Commander Brig. Gen. Russell D. Driggers.

In November 2020, 73 percent of San Antonio voters approved an eight-year renewal of a 2012 referendum to increase the local sales tax by one-eighth of a cent to fund Pre-K 4 SA, a voluntary, full-day pre-k program for four-year-old children from low and middle-income families. You can read more about it in our case study.