Here's where voters approved a tax hike to help pay for child care

SDI Productions

Child care was on the ballot in several cities and counties across the country.

In Austin, Texas, where voters weighed whether to raise property taxes, advocates noted that a year of child care costs more than a year of tuition at the University of Texas at Austin.

In Sonoma County, Calif., where a new sales tax was on the ballot, a year of infant care can cost more than a year at the University of California, Berkeley. And still, demand is high. A report found the pandemic had decimated the county's child care workforce to such a degree that it was left with just over half of the child care slots it once had.

Voters in both places approved the ballot measures, while a similar measure in St. Paul, Minn., failed.

As government and business leaders have grappled with what to do about the scarcity and unaffordability of child care, local jurisdictions have been looking into solutions of their own. New Orleans, San Antonio, Escambia County, Fla., and Whatcom County, Wash., are some of the places that have put similar ballot measures to voters in recent elections.

The hope is that these local-level initiatives will have a "trickle up" effect, says Olivia Allen, co-founder of the Children’s Funding Project, which helps communities and states pursue dedicated public funding for kids.

"Measures passed in your neighboring community may... create more demand in other parts of the state," says Allen, pointing to Colorado voters' approval of a nicotine tax to fund universal pre-K, following actions taken by several Colorado communities.

Meanwhile, in a statement early Wednesday, the advocacy group Child Care Aware of America, urged the incoming Trump administration and Congress to work toward broader solutions.

"The American people have resoundingly called for — both before and during the election cycle — affordable, accessible, quality child care solutions," wrote the organization's CEO Susan Gale Perry.

Here's a round-up of how this year's local measures fared:

Approved: Austin, Texas voters choose a property tax

In Travis County, Texas, which encompasses most of Austin, voters approved a property tax increase of 2.5 cents for every $100 of property value to help increase access to child care, afterschool and summer programming for thousands of families.

The average Travis County homeowner is projected to pay an additional $126 every year, generating $75 million annually. The money could create an additional 1,900 child care slots for infants and toddlers from low-income families and 3,900 afterschool and summer programming slots for school-age children.

Cathy McHorse, an early childhood consultant who organized the coalition behind the initiative, says it will be transformational for the community.

"It includes not only increased access for affordable child care for families who don't have care, but also includes extended hours for families who are working non-traditional hour shifts," she says.

The Travis County Commission, which voted unanimously to put the measure on the ballot, highlighted the important role child care plays in driving economic growth and positive outcomes for children, including higher rates of graduation and lower rates of incarceration.

Approved: In Sonoma County, it's a sales tax

Voters in Sonoma County, Calif., approved a quarter-cent sales tax on every $1 spent, to generate $30 million annually to be set aside for children.

Under the measure, 60% will go toward increasing access to early child care and preschool for low-income families and also bolstering the wages of child care workers. The other 40% will be put toward improving access to health care and mental health care for children.

"We're asking folks to take care of our kids in their most formative years when they're living in poverty themselves," says Cynthia King, CEO of Sonoma Community Action Network. "That's not healthy for anybody."

The measure had endorsements from business groups, a pediatrician, the local NAACP, among others. It had no formal opposition.

Rejected: St. Paul, Minn. says "no"

Meanwhile in St. Paul, Minn., voters soundly rejected a plan to gradually raise property taxes to help pay for child care for roughly half of St Paul's children.

The city's mayor, Melvin Carter, was staunchly opposed from the start. He warned that the ballot referendum would not raise enough money to achieve what it promised to do.

Carter went as far as to inform City Council he would not implement the plan even if voters approved it, pointing to the language on the ballot that authorizes — but does not require — the city of St. Paul to carry out the plan.

Councilmember Rebecca Noecker, who pushed the proposal, acknowledged on Facebook that the city's needs wouldn't be fully met by the program.

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"But the fact that we can’t help everyone has never kept us from helping those we can," she wrote. "Every year we do nothing, more kids fall behind and families struggle."