Multnomah County in Oregon has recently got a lot of attention for the Universal Preschool plan which passed this past election day.  The official write of the plan states “This plan prioritizes support for providers and teachers. It offers a living wage so preschool teachers would earn the same as Kindergarten teachers and invests in comprehensive workforce development. The plan carries a strong commitment to supporting existing community care providers, most of whom are women — and disproportionately, women of color.”

A New York Times article about their program wrote “It seeks to overcome the central problem in early childhood care and education: It is unaffordable for many families, yet teachers are underpaid. The solution, Multnomah County voters decided, is to finance preschool with public funding instead of private tuition, and to pay teachers much more.”

Oregon Live notes “The county-backed Preschool For All initiative won majority support in partial returns, with 64.2% of voters backing it as of 9:50 p.m.The preschool measure is a 1.5% tax on incomes of more than $125,000 per year and joint filings topping $250,000.”

This new program will not be implemented over night. USA Today explains “The program is expected to start in 2022 – though it will take 10 years to reach full capacity, estimated to serve between 13,000-15,000 kids annually – and will be paid for by taxing the county’s highest income earners. All families will be eligible to participate, regardless of their income.”

You can learn more abou the program by watching the video below: