Multnomah County punts on Preschool for All changes
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Amid ongoing cost concerns surrounding Multnomah County's Preschool for All program, county commissioners opted last week to hold off on any moves that would change its funding structure.
Why it matters: The program, passed by a sizable majority of voters in 2020, has come under criticism from Gov. Tina Kotek and others for imposing too high of a tax burden on Portland-area residents.
How it works: Preschool for All aims to provide free universal preschool to all Multnomah County 3- and 4-year-olds by 2030, and is funded through a personal income tax between 1.5% and 3% on earnings over certain thresholds for high-income residents.
- The program is set to serve nearly 4,000 children at more than 200 preschools this year, with the majority coming from low-income families, according to the county.
- But a county audit released earlier this year found the program was at risk of missing its goals due to a lack of qualified child care providers and low payments to participating preschools.
The latest: That all set the stage for a series of meetings last week where county commissioners planned to vote on changes to the program's funding structure.
- The leading proposal called for indexing the income tax to inflation, though an advisory group made up of economists and early-childhood policy experts was split on whether the change should be implemented.
- Before it could come to a vote on Thursday, Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards made a motion to postpone any changes, calling the proposal the product of a "rushed process."
The big picture: The proposal will now head back to the advisory group for further study, with a report on the impacts of the proposed changes due early next year.
Friction point: Kotek first expressed concerns over the cost of the program in June, saying in a press release the county must "continue to serve the children it is serving, amend the tax, and fix the program before the next tax year to reduce the burden on Multnomah County residents."
- State lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to pass an amendment that would have ended the program after two years and prohibited the county from using the tax to fund preschool programs.
- Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the governor was "undercutting a program that is successfully serving thousands of young children."
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify which earnings are subject to the Preschool for All personal income tax.