In the News
MECK Pre-K Reaches Record Enrollment for 2025-2026 School Year
Earlier this month, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina announced MECK Pre-K, the county’s public pre-K program open to all 4 year-olds, has reached record enrollment. For the 2024-2025 school year, MECK Pre-K graduated 1,755 children across the community and 1,830 children are registered for the next year.
50,000 Letters Saved Multnomah County’s Preschool for All
The Oregon State Legislature recently attempted to overturn Multnomah County’s Preschool for All. A bill was introduced that would have sunsetted the program in two years, barring the county from collecting income tax to fund Preschool for All. In 2020, voters approved a measure to create tuition-free universal preschool program funded by a progressive income tax. The community generated 50,000 letters to ensure the Legislature heard from constituents that wanted the preschool program to continue. Read about the myths that were circulating about why the local tax should be overturned. And read our original case study about Multnomah County’s Preschool for All.
San Antonio approves $60M budget for early childhood education program
The San Antonio City Council recently approved a $60.522 million budget for Pre-K 4 SA for fiscal year 2025-26, which will fund a series of early childhood education initiatives. In November 2012, San Antonians approved a ⅛-cent sales tax to fund the Pre-K 4 SA initiative for an initial eight-year term. Voters reauthorized the initiative in November 2020, extending the sales tax through June 30, 2029.
Click here to read the full story and see the budget breakdown.
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
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.
Big wins on ballot measures for local children’s funds
This year’s election results include several big wins on ballot measures for local children’s funds. The Children’s Funding Project rounded up these wins in their latest blog, including in Texas and Missouri, where voters approved Travis County Prop A and Platte County’s Children’s Services Fund both by wide margins. Click here to read the full story.
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
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.
