Gov. Tina Kotek digs in heels on criticism of universal preschool program: ‘The program as it stands cannot keep its promise’

Gov. Tina Kotek continued her assault on Multnomah County’s effort to offer tuition-free preschool Thursday, doubling down on her criticism of the program and the tax that funds it and suggesting it is doomed to fail.

It’s another swipe in an ongoing series of attacks on the county’s highly-scrutinized attempt to offer tuition-free preschool to 11,000 3- and 4-year-olds by 2030. But unlike her first jab, which largely attacked the tax that funds the preschool seats, this time Kotek went after the program itself.

“From the beginning of my discussions with the county chair, my north star has been the sustainability of the program because one of the reasons I ran for governor was to make things better for our youngest learners,” Kotek wrote in a statement. “The program as it stands cannot fulfill its promise to Oregon children.”

The feud started in a June 10 letter to Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, in which Kotek suggested the county reduce the Preschool for All tax rate or pause the tax entirely to prevent more wealthy taxpayers from leaving the county. She argued that it was putting Portland’s economic recovery at risk, although she used outdated figures to make her case.

On Monday night, Democratic lawmakers added fuel to the fire with an 11th hour proposal that would have ended the county’s program altogether by 2027. Lawmakers dropped that effort Tuesday only hours after they put it forth. But they held a public meeting to air their concerns and ask tough questions of Vega Pederson and fellow county board members.

Multnomah County voters in 2020 overwhelmingly approved creating the universal preschool program and imposing taxes on high-income earners to pay for it. But the program has come under serious criticism since then, largely because it has raised far more money than it has spent and because it has been slow to serve as many preschoolers as originally promised.

Kotek said the county program, which will offer 3,800 preschool seats in the fall, has routinely fallen short.

“For many families and the community at large, the program is not working,” Kotek said in her statement Thursday. “Kids that should be eligible are not getting a seat in the classroom. The economic landscape has changed since the passage of the measure that set the program in motion, and we must plan ahead with a more accurate picture of where we actually stand today.”

Lawmakers’ and Kotek’s attack on the county’s preschool program has drawn fierce pushback from the county Board of Commissioners and community groups. Vega Pederson said in a statement Thursday that the governor’s choice to double down on “undercutting a program that is successfully serving thousands of young children” was disappointing. The chair said over 70,000 letters have been sent to Kotek and other local leaders defending the initiative.

A cohort of parents, educators and advocates of Preschool for All gathered in solidarity with the county Wednesday, asking lawmakers to keep their hands off the local program.

Kotek and lawmakers have argued that the county should scrap Preschool for All in favor of working with the state on a plan to offer something similar statewide. Vega Pederson and other commissioners have expressed support for the sentiment, but have said they have little faith the state can deliver.

“There absolutely should be a statewide program serving all Oregon children,” Vega Pederson wrote. “Until that day, state leaders need to focus on their own efforts to fully fund and support the early childhood education programs they already have.”

The county collects 1.5% on any income county residents make over $125,000 to fund the preschool program. That same rate applies to any income couples make over $200,000. That tax rate jumps to 3% on income over $250,000 for individuals and over $400,000 for joint filers.

The board has contemplated potential changes to the tax that funds the program. Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards pitched indexing the income thresholds that determine who owes the tax to inflation in last year, when the county voted to delay an increase to the tax at the behest of Kotek.

Commissioner Shannon Singleton jumped into the fray Thursday, saying she supports the planned revisions the board will be making to the tax in the coming months but that the state should not overturn the will of the voters by eliminating the county program.

“Families depend on Preschool For All for child care and early childhood learning,” Singleton said. “It frustrates me that many families, especially our Black, Indigenous, people of color, and families with low incomes, that count on this program to educate their children, were negatively impacted this week.”

— Austin De Dios covers Multnomah County politics, programs and more. Reach him at 503-319-9744, [email protected] or @AustinDeDios.