Street Roots Endorsement | Yes on universal preschool in Multnomah County

Ballot Measure 26-214 | Subsidizing toddler education is the only way to make this critical step in youth development accessible to those who need it most

by SR editorial board | 14 Oct 2020

This measure would establish free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds living in Multnomah County, and it would be funded through a tax on high-income earners.

Access to early childhood education is proven to improve outcomes later in life. In looking to solutions that could help lower future incidences of homelessness, Street Roots found preschool to be a promising intervention, one that sets a child up for success early in life.

But in Multnomah County, preschool is cost prohibitive to many working families, typically costing more than $1,000 a month per toddler.

And it’s not just preschool. In Oregon, the pre-pandemic median annual cost of child care for a toddler was nearly double the annual tuition at a public university. As the pandemic subsides, it’s unclear how many child care facilities will remain, but shrunken supply would surely drive costs up further.

These high prices force families to choose between their child’s safety and education and other household necessities, such as food and rent.

Earlier this year, Street Roots spoke with several early-learning experts in Oregon about preschool costs, and they all agreed: It’s impossible for quality preschool to be affordable for all families without public funding — especially if preschool teachers and their support staff are paid living wages. But preschool workers we interviewed complained of low wages and poor benefit offerings among area facilities — even those charging as much as $1,700 a month for one child.

Another issue we encountered was the lack of culturally competent preschool options in the Portland metro area.

Ballot Measure 26-214 addresses all of these issues and more.

It requires that public preschool teachers are paid on par with kindergarten teachers and that teaching assistants are paid a living wage. It bookends the school day with before and after care available for free to parents who meet income eligibility requirements, and it includes provisions for culturally relevant, multi-generational learning experiences. It will take several years to build up to the point where preschool is truly universal for all preschool-aged children in the county as the large team of teachers and staff needed is recruited, trained and certified.

Funding for the program will come from a 1.5% tax on individual incomes over $125,000 and on joint incomes over $200,000. The tax on high-income earners will increase to 2.3% in 2026 as the program grows.

The county’s Preschool for All task force estimated an additional 2,300 preschool workers would be needed for all of the county’s approximately 19,000 preschool-age children to attend preschool. That’s a lot of new living wage jobs at a time when Multnomah County’s job market could use the boost.

Research examining Head Start programs has shown children in poverty and who are otherwise at risk gain the most from attending preschool. While it can benefit all children, it can have a life-altering impact on at-risk kids who begin kindergarten vulnerable to disciplinary and academic barriers due to racial and class inequities.

In Multnomah County, there are a lot of kids who fall into this category, according to the Preschool for All task force’s findings.
Nineteen percent of preschool-age children in Multnomah County are living in families with incomes under the federal poverty level. That’s $25,100 for a family of four. This measure has the potential to improve the futures of Multnomah County’s most-at-risk toddlers while removing the burden of sky-high child care costs for parents of every toddler. Vote yes.