Early- learning fund for county is weighed
A working group charged with examining the potential creation of a countywide children’s fund to support early learning and out- ofschooltime programs is aiming to present recommendations to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald in September.
After six public meetings, additional focus groups and an online survey open to the public, several major themes have emerged, said Michelle Figlar, a vice president at The Heinz Endowments, and Trisha Gadson, CEO of nonprofit
Macedonia FACE, who cochair the working group.
Among the major points that came up in public meetings and focus groups were wanting equitable access to programs, making sure programs are inclusive for all kids, and recognizing the importance of livable salaries for early learning teachers, they said.
Meetings took place in Downtown, the Hill District, Moon, Bethel Park, Shaler and McKeesport.
Regarding how such a fund should be structured, “the biggest theme for that was accountability,” Ms. Gadson said. “[ Meeting participants] wanted transparency and accountability.”
The group is examining potential fund budget scenarios of $ 5 million, $ 10 million and $ 20 million; it was not tasked with recommending sources of revenue for a fund.
A proposed Children’s Fund that would have relied on a property tax increase was rejected last year by Allegheny County voters. Some critics of that proposal objected to funding it using a property tax, as well as its proposed structure, or said it wasn’t clear what organizations would benefit from the funding.
The 26- member working group, whose members were appointed by Mr. Fitzgerald in March, also includes county council members Tom Baker and DeWitt Walton, and a number of local nonprofit officials with backgrounds in education, disability advocacy and early learning, among others.
“Children who have access to quality early childhood learning have improved social skills, better grades and enhanced attention spans. Children who have access to after- school programs do better in school, have fewer behavioral problems, and do not become involved with crime as young adults. We want that for all of our children. The effort last year resulted in having more than 250,000 voters say yes; this is important to them, too. And many other voters wanted to know more – which is why I’ve convened this group, to help all of us put together what a countywide program can look like,” Mr. Fitzgerald said in a statement when he announced the appointment of the group.
More information is available at http://www.childrensfundcommunitymeetings.childrensfundcommunitymeetings.childrensfundcommunitymeetings.org/.