Monterey County one step closer to increasing quality childcare

By Caitlin Conrad

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    SALINAS, California (KSBW) — Prices are rising for everything these days and childcare is not immune. Post-pandemic parents are seeing their annual daycare costs increase 41% nationwide according to a new Lending Tree study. Monterey County moved a step closer on Tuesday to some possible relief.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved putting a childcare act on the November ballot. The goal of the Safe, Affordable, Quality Child Care Act is to double the number of childcare slots in the county and add 10,000 new licensed spaces. To do this they hope to double the qualified workforce and fund 2,000 new teacher positions. The bill would raise $5.5 million annually through a $49 per parcel tax if it is approved by voters.

“We are seeing families who are leaving our schools, they are leaving our state, simply because they cannot afford childcare,” said Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Deneen Guss.

Guss, a proponent of the bill, says there has been a childcare shortage for years, and it has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Yes 4 Monterey County Kids, the campaign behind the initiative, reports there are only slots available for 28% of Monterey County kids ages 0 to 5.

The prices for those slots have also gone up since the pandemic began.

“I would definitely say that the cost of childcare has increased tremendously since the pandemic because there are fewer slots and demand exceeds supply, so that drives the cost up,” said Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin, a member of the Board of Trustees for Hartnell College.

D’arrigo-Martin says she sees mothers who are forced to choose between work, school and childcare.

“It is such a huge percentage of their earned wage that that puts a lot of stress on them, sometimes they have to choose between housing, car payments, food and childcare,” said D’Arrigo-Martin.

Childcare bills run between $1,200 and $2,000 a month for children under five in Monterey County. It’s a bill only 19% of Monterey County families can afford for one child, and only 10% can afford it for two children.

Local leaders say parents who can’t afford to stay home or traditional childcare centers turn to family, friends or neighbors for childcare. That could result in kids missing out on a quality education.

“I used to be an elementary school teacher, and I could tell which children were ready to learn from day one, and some of the other children who had not had that pre-school and quality childcare, and those children are already falling behind,” former County Supervisor Simon Salinas said.

New Lending Tree data shows the cost of daycare is eating up nearly 30% of working parents’ annual earnings post-pandemic, but a Center for American Progress report shows providers aren’t making anymore money.

“Our early care and childcare providers were barely making it before the pandemic. You know, the cost of being an employer — you have insurance costs, you have facilities costs, childcare providers really weren’t making a great deal of money prior to the pandemic, and now of course all of their costs have gone up,” said Guss.

Providers now have to spend additional dollars on PPE, COVID-19 testing and deal with rising wages due to inflation.

Guss is hopeful the Safe, Affordable, Quality Care Act will provide some relief to children families and educators when it’s put to voters this fall.

The act has been endorsed by a number of Chambers of Commerce, and proponents say the local economy would see a good return on its investment

“It was important that develop enough slots for these children so that the parents can continue going to work, and certainly for the employers, it is important every Monday through Friday, or whenever it is, that their employee is there and isn’t too concerned about how is the care of their children,” said Salinas.

The former supervisor and proponent of the act says investing our own dollars would also give Monterey County more leverage to bring in state and federal dollars for early childhood education in the future.

As for those who may be opposed to the act, the taxpayers association has yet to weigh in on the bill. A spokesperson said they plan to meet and review the tax before taking a stance.

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