San Antonio voters could soon decide the future of Pre-K 4 SA after City Council voted Thursday to put a proposed 20-year reauthorization of the program’s dedicated sales-tax funding on the November ballot.
The vote was 7-2, with Councilmembers Misty Spears and Marc Whyte voting against the measure.
Councilwomen Marina Alderete Gavito and Phyllis Viagran were absent from Thursday’s vote. Viagran later said she would have voted against it, citing concerns over the speed of the election process.
The proposal would continue the ⅛ cent sales tax dedicated to Pre-K 4 SA for another 20 years. The current authorization was approved by voters in 2020 and runs through June 2029. Voters first approved the dedicated tax in 2012.
The 20-year proposal is the longest funding authorization Pre-K 4 SA has sought. Previous authorizations have been eight years at a time.
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, a former educator, has been one of the proposal’s strongest advocates.
He said the current eight-year funding structure doesn’t give the program enough financial certainty to make major long-term investments.
“The problem with the 8 years is that an 8-year authorization, is that it doesn’t leave a lot of financial stability or certainty for financial institutions,” said the councilman.
McKee-Rodriguez added that certainty could allow Pre-K 4 SA to make larger investments in its facilities and programs and ultimately expand access to more San Antonio families.
Other city leaders who support Pre-K 4 SA believe the longer authorization could help the program address changing community needs, including expanding infant and toddler care, growing Pre-K 3 sites, strengthening partnerships with childcare providers and supporting the early-childhood workforce.
McKee-Rodriguez also argued that families are struggling with the cost of childcare, making access to affordable early childhood education an economic issue as well as an educational one.
He said the long-term commitment could give families and the program more certainty.
He pushed back on concerns about locking in funding for 20 years, arguing that voters and future leaders would still have options.
“Even though this is reauthorizing Pre-K for SA for 20 years, there’s always the power of the vote,” said McKee-Rodriguez. “And in 10, 15 years, we find that the program is not necessary, or it’s achieved all of its goals, we can then begin to transition out of that.”
The program’s Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Baray, told City Council on Thursday the program has directly served more than 14,000 students at its own centers and supports an additional 13,000 children through 119 local schools and child development centers.
The first cohort of the program, which started in 2013, had roughly 650 4-year-olds who are now beginning their senior year of high school.
The program now operates four education centers and serves about 2,000 students each year. It has also expanded beyond its traditional focus on 3- and 4-year-olds, recently adding infant and toddler classrooms at its South Education Center. That expansion comes as demand for childcare remains high.
Spears, who represents District 9, said her vote was not a rejection of Pre-K 4 SA itself. Her concern is the length and timing of the proposed funding commitment and whether the city has enough information about how the money would be spent over 20 years.
“They were asking for funding without producing a strategic plan for how they would use the extension or reauthorization that would go for 20 years,” Spears told KSAT.
She added she wants to see a clear plan before asking taxpayers to commit to the funding for two decades. She also questioned how the needs of education and San Antonio families could change over that amount of time.
“You need to be able to make sure what you’re doing is effective and where you want to continue spending that taxpayer money,” Spears said.
Her concerns were echoed by Whyte, who also voted against putting the measure on the ballot. He shared Spears’ concerns about the length of the proposed tax commitment and the lack of details about how the additional funding would be used, factors that ultimately swayed his vote.
One of the biggest questions surrounding Thursday’s vote is why voters are being asked to make the decision now when the current authorization doesn’t expire until 2029. Some argue waiting would make long-term planning more difficult.
McKee-Rodriguez told KSAT that Pre-K 4 SA currently leases two of its four education centers and would like to eventually move into buildings it owns. He reiterated that a 20-year funding horizon could make those kinds of investments more financially realistic.
However, those on the opposite end said that reason is precisely why voters need more information before committing to 20 years of funding.
For families, supporters say the long-term investment could mean more access to early childhood education and childcare. For taxpayers, the decision represents a commitment to continue dedicating a portion of local sales-tax revenue to the program for two decades.
City Council has until Monday to officially order the November election. They will discuss further details of the program again on Sept. 1.
After that, San Antonio voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to approve the 20-year Pre-K 4 SA funding reauthorization.
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