Hello,
Last week the Budget and Finance Committee passed a proposal to set aside $52M for education, $10M of this to early care & education. Combined with additional funds coming through the ERAF windfall allocated to PEEF and Children’s Fund, this will mean an additional $10M a year for the next three years dedicated to early care educator compensation. Although short of what we need for the SF ECE citywide plan goals of parity with TK3 compensation and expansion of services -- this is a big leap forward. See more details in update and SF Chronicle article linked below.
Thanks to all who came to speak at the Budget and Finance Committee, and all who worked on last June’s Proposition C. Your active support for ECE matters. At the ECESF Issues Luncheon
Supervisor Shamann Walton commented on the three passed initiatives including ECE’s Prop C, now facing lawsuits, “I see all of these initiatives as the will of the voters. I feel those resources should go towards the things we already fought for.”
We have the board of supervisors attention — ready to support voter approved initiatives — we need to continue to advocate as a community, and build a vision of what we want. Join us at our next ECESF Community meeting, February 25 to review the citywide ECE plan and plan next steps.
Thanks for working with us to build a strong ECE community advocating for the needs of children, families, and community support for the important role of caring for and educating children.
Sara Hicks-Kilday, Director
Early Care Educators of San Francisco