Working families are struggling with the high cost of living. Prices have soared for housing and groceries. Most parents are working, but childcare costs as much as rent or a mortgage.
No wonder the ballot measure creating Multnomah County’s Preschool for All passed by 2 to 1. Preschool for All is a national model, on its way to offering free preschool to all the County’s children for up to five 10-hour days a week. Families choose their preschools’ location, size, language and schedule, including part-time and weekend days. Teachers earn living wages with health benefits, many for the first time, and some are organizing unions to have a voice in their workplaces.
The impact is tremendous. Children are happy and making big gains. Parents are able to work more, get more education, and pay down debt. Teachers are happy to see a viable future working with young children.
Economists know universal preschool is a silver bullet. It’s our best economic development strategy for raising income, far better than business subsidies or tax breaks. Parents and teachers earn more right away, and children get more education and earn more as adults. Families and teachers can better support local businesses, and new firms are attracted to the area by a more skilled workforce, raising wages for everyone. Local schools can be better funded as spending for social services falls.
Preschool for All has grown rapidly since launching in Fall 2022. Preschool for All teachers care for 3,800 kids, and will take up to 7,500 next year. The program is ahead of schedule as it expands to reach all the three and four year-olds whose families want to enroll by Fall 2030. The program is also supporting professional development for current and future child care providers and teachers, building the workforce with education and training at local colleges and non-profits, and aiding the renovation and creation of much-needed facilities.
But the promise of being available for all kids — just like our K-12 schools are free and open to all — is threatened by opposition from some of the wealthiest people in town. Preschool for All is funded by a small county income tax on the most well-off tenth of taxpayers. Highly-paid business lobbyists are pushing hard on our elected officials to cut back or even eliminate Preschool for All.
In truth, those who pay the tax don’t pay that much. Even high-quality preschool is relatively cheap compared to other needs like housing, because it’s just two years for each child. For example, Andrew Hoan, president and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance and Metro Chamber, was paid $306,960, according to their most recent tax filing. As the Friends of Preschool for All’s Tax Calculator shows, based on that salary he would owe just under $4,250 if he filed as single. A single mother making $150,000 a year as a software engineer, filing as head of household, pays no Preschool for All tax.
As a co-coordinator for the Friends of Preschool for All, and a past president and chief negotiator for my union, I urge you to support full funding for Preschool for All’s rollout to universality and into the future. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners will vote this summer on whether to enact the tax bump to fund the final phase that was called for in the ballot measure. The increase is needed to ensure that the small businesses providing Preschool for All will be able to continue their essential work without cutting corners. If you’re not in Multnomah County, I encourage you to push in your own community for universal preschool for struggling working families, modeled after Preschool for All!
Mary King is an economics professor emerita at Portland State University and former president of the faculty union PSU-AAUP.
