ST. LOUIS — The ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools board voted Monday to oppose a proposed sales tax hike in the city for early childhood education, citing the increased burden on low-income families and lack of oversight on the spending.
Several hours later, child care and public school advocates sparred during an aldermanic hearing for the bill that would place a half-cent tax increase on the November ballot “to provide funds to improve the quality, affordability, and access to early childhood education in the City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ for children aged 5 years and under.â€
At issue are state laws that restrict the city’s ability to raise taxes to subsidize child care tuition, workers’ salaries or additional seats. The early childhood education system in the city primarily consists of for-profit day care centers and free preschool at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools, neither of which can be funded through the sales tax.
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“The bill is a naked attempt by known proponents of education privatization ... to trick the public into funding their and their friends’ consulting operations under the guise of ‘child care’ or ‘early childhood education,’†said Ben Conover of advocacy group Solidarity with SLPS during the hearing of the Board of Aldermen Transportation and Commerce Committee. “Let’s be clear: The funds from this bill cannot go towards increasing the affordability or accessibility of early childhood education.â€
The sales tax would raise $22.4 million annually according to the advocacy group , which is lobbying for the bill and a similar â…œ-cent sales tax hike proposal in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
“At our local grocery store, the sales tax is already over 10%,†said SLPS board member Emily Hubbard during the earlier meeting. “If you have a lot of mouths to feed, that tax is going to add up. ... It’s so regressive, and I don’t think it will end up benefiting our families.†(Certain food sales in Missouri are eligible for .)
Alderman Shameem Clark Hubbard, who introduced the bill, pointed to research showing access to early childhood education leads to better outcomes for children and lower crime rates and told the committee to “work together to get this on the ballot to let our constituents decide.â€
The SLPS board unanimously opposed the bill because it “directs taxpayer dollars to non-public entities with no oversight or accountability measures in place,†according to the resolution passed in the special meeting.
The school district offers free preschool to 1,800 3- and 4-year-olds in the city. The funds from the new tax would be distributed by the city’s Mental Health Board and could not be spent on public schools. The money could also not be used to expand child care centers, reduce costs for parents or boost salaries for workers. None of the for-profit or in-home day cares could be funded directly.
State law authorizes the Mental Health Board to spend tax dollars on substance abuse treatment, homeless shelters and crisis hotlines among other behavioral health services but does not specify funding for ages 0 to 5. Early childhood falls under the statute’s designation for “prevention programs which promote healthy lifestyles among children and youth and strengthen families,†according to the board’s leaders.
The only way to “make a difference in terms of affordability and accessibility†of child care is to change state law that bars funding of for-profit day cares, said Cassandra Kaufman, executive director of the Mental Health Board.
In 2020, city voters passed Proposition R, which raised property taxes for early childhood and sends more than $2 million each year to the Mental Health Board for behavioral services including social-emotional learning and professional development.
The funds have gone to consultants like the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance and nonprofits Nurses for Newborns and Parents as Teachers. The fund’s top recipient, S.T.A.R. Inc. in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, has received nearly $670,000 over two years for child care worker training.
Lisa Scheer, director of the for-profit Baden Christian Child Care Center, told the transportation committee that Proposition R funds have gone to a nonprofit that regularly sends a trauma counselor to the center.
Gloria Nolan, who worked for WePower and led the push for Proposition R, is opposed to the proposed sales tax because the promises of the campaign did not lead to lower costs or more seats for child care.
“Everything that has been said sounds lovely, but nothing has been proven, nothing has been shown and we have to stop this now,†Nolan told the aldermanic committee. “There is power in giving power to the people and making sure we do not let nonprofits with self-interest and big financial backers run our city.â€