From a local tool to a Cardona visit

Local, state, federal opportunities for early learning dollars

Early Bird readers, hello again. Newcomers, welcome! If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up here to receive it every two weeks, and join our conversation on issues facing North Carolina’s young children and those who support them. If you’re already a subscriber, please help us reach more people by sharing this with your friends and co-workers interested in early childhood education.

I hope you’re all well and staying cool as North Carolina humidity returns. As we approach summer, EdNC looked back at the last year and asked what pandemic lessons we can take forward. Go here to read how the pandemic has shaped early learning.

Early education faces large issues, from teacher shortages and unstable providers to high costs and low access for children and parents. There are financing proposals at every level aimed at addressing these issues.

The state House passed a bill this month that would allow county commissioners to create service districts to fund early education programs at the local level. Service districts are defined areas in a town or county on which a local government levies property taxes for a specific purpose. I spoke with Florida council leaders who have used a similar model to support local services for children and families and to scale up successful programs.

This approach would not address inequities in resources across the state, said Michele Rivest, senior campaign director for the NC Early Education Coalition. “It’s not a statewide solution to the financing crisis in our state,” she said.

At the state level, Gov. Roy Cooper released his recommendations for the spending of federal relief funds. On top of the $1.3 billion going to stabilize and strengthen child care, Cooper included funds to provide early childhood teacher scholarships and supports and to raise the NC Pre-K slot rate and expand the program.

Cooper said he expects the state budget to include funds for child care during a news conference this month as U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visited.

“I think a lot of legislators in both parties have begun to realize the importance of child care to our economy, because it enables parents to be able to work. So I’m hoping that we can have more success this time,” Cooper said.

That leads us to the federal level. Cardona visited to talk about the American Families Plan, President Biden’s proposal that includes large investments in early care and education, from universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds to financial child care assistance for parents.

“It costs more not to do this,” Cardona said at Bright Beginnings Child Development Center in Cary.

I’ll be covering these moving pieces and what they could mean for young children and educators in the weeks ahead. Have questions, story ideas, or just want to chat? Reply to this email. I’d love to connect.