Open Letter to Alameda County - Measure A Expanded Access to Quality Child Care

Childcare should not be a luxury. Yet with the average cost of childcare eating up 25 percent of a family’s income, many Bay Area families cannot afford to enroll their children in quality early education while parents work. Other children spend years on waiting lists.

As a business owner who has spent a lifetime serving families across three preschool sites, I’ve witnessed firsthand the importance of quality education and care in a child’s life. Sadly, thousands of Alameda County children are missing out on those critical first years of education. The ripple effect hits our community hard.

Measure A -- on our Alameda County ballot this June –  will open up early education for these children and set them up for success in K-12 and beyond. The measure invests in children early, when 90 percent of brain development occurs, as well as supporting preschool teachers who are shaping our future leaders.

Measure A is expected to generate $140 million per year through a modest one-half cent sales tax and help reduce the childcare waiting list for 2,000 children ages 0 to 5. Funding will also be used to enhance early education services for 4,500 children. The measure supports preschool teachers by providing livable wages, which is critical to providing children with the best educators and caregivers.

By voting yes on Measure A, our community wins. Expanded access to quality child care means Alameda County children grow up healthy, strong and educated. Stable child care means parents can go to work and employers have stable workforces, and educators can live where they work and provide for their own families. And we all live in a thriving community. Please join me in voting YES on Measure A this June.

This was also published in the San Leandro Times on Thursday 17 May 2018.