MYTHBUSTING

Data doesn’t lie: The number of very high-income households in Multnomah County has tripled in the last decade. What’s shrinking is how many kids under 5 we have, now just 4.5% of the population. The number of children in urban counties is down across the country, at least partially due to the high cost of housing and childcare.
Wealthy residents are not leaving because of this tax. Families are leaving because the cost of raising children is outpacing incomes — PFA helps reverse that trend.
By May 2025, the number of tax filers had grown by 5,429 from Tax Year 2021 to Tax Year 2023. The claim by Governor Kotek and others that the number had fallen by 1,722 over that time was based on incomplete, early data.
Oregon’s state and local taxes fall in the middle of the pack nationally: per capita, we pay 75% of what New Yorkers do, and 80% of Californians’ levels.

Only the top 10% of households pay this tax – and they benefit too

The tax that funds Preschool for All is narrowly targeted at those who can most afford it — just 10% of households.
Importantly, even these households are eligible for tuition-free preschool. PFA is a universal program, not a handout — it benefits all families, including high income households.
Every dollar spent on public preschool returns $7- $12 to the economy.

Indexing the Tax isn’t “Common Sense” –

IT WOULD BANKRUPT THE PROGRAM

Indexing is a tactic from the well-funded anti-tax lobby.

County Economist Jeff Renfro’s 4/15/25 analysis predicts that indexing will bankrupt Preschool for All within 6 years.
High-income households are much less affected by inflation than other groups, which frequently lack the bargaining power to raise their wages and spend their entire paychecks on the rising cost of rent, groceries, gas, health care and childcare. For example, high-income households are more likely to own their primary residence; unlike rents, mortgage payments do not increase.
For this reason, only the lower Oregon state income tax brackets are indexed to inflation. Oregon’s highest tax bracket is not indexed for inflation, and starts where the Preschool for All tax does, for individual incomes above $125,000, after deductions.
Indexing the tax to inflation will reduce revenues just when they are most needed by the preschool program, hit itself by rising costs. Further, indexing “compounds,” meaning an unchanging rate of inflation would create bigger and bigger adjustments.

Preschool for All Does NOT Duplicate State Programs

WHICH ARE POVERTY TRAPS

PFA Creates Better Opportunities for Parents and Teachers

State programs are small, open only to a fraction of families eligible because their income thresholds for admittance are all means-tested at either the poverty line, or in the case of Preschool Promise at double the very low US poverty line. And they pay low wages to teachers. Parents don’t get enough time to cover a work week. Teachers’ pay minimums are the minimum wage, and few can get full-time hours.

State preschool programs in Multnomah County are small and all are part-time.

FEW SPOTS

Together Oregon Pre-K, Head Start and Preschool Promise have 2,444 spots, enough for only 17.6% of the 13,878 preschool age children in the County in early 2025.
Preschool for All had 2,225 spots in early 2025, enough for another 16% of Multnomah County children of preschool age.
As Preschool for All grows to full universality, outreach and application processes prioritize children who have the least access to quality, affordable preschool options.

HOURS OPEN

The minimum hours required of Oregon Pre-K are 560 a year and of Head Start just 500 a year, covering just a quarter of the time someone with a full-time job is working, never mind their commute! Even the extended day/extended year programs are only open for 1,020 hours, just about covering a half-time job.
Preschool Promise sites operate only for 900 hours a year, offering a minimum of 4 6-hour days a week, still not up to half the time needed to work a full-time job.
Preschool for All will grow to offer a variety of schedules, but currently offers what enrolled families request, with ⅔ of sites providing up to 10 hours a day for up to 5 days a week, year-round in 2025-26.

State Preschool Programs will all be cut in 25/27 Biennium, while PFA is expanding

Preschool Promise is slated for a 10% cut in the next biennium.
All of the Oregon’s early childhood education and care programs will be cut at least 2%
Preschool for All is expanding to 3,800 spots in the Fall of 2025, able to serve 27% of Multnomah County’s preschool age children, offering more spots than the state preschool programs combined!
If not slowed down by the Governor or the Legislature, Preschool for All will have enough additional spots for all of the County’s children whose family wishes to enroll them in either a PFA program or one of the state programs in 2030. This assumes that the state keeps service levels consistent and doesn’t keep cutting programs for young children.

Teacher Pay in Preschool for All is Higher than State Programs and Lead Teacher Pay will Rise to Comparability with Kindergarten Teachers by 2035

The minimum teacher pay for Oregon Pre-K and Head Start are the minimum wage. OPK and Head Start minimums for Lead Teachers are not much better, at $18/hour.
Preschool Promise minimum teacher salaries for the 2025/27 biennium are also a minimum teacher salary of the local minimum wage, and a minimum lead teacher wage of $18 an hour.
Preschool For All’s minimum teacher pay is $21.68/hour, rising to $22.27 on July 1, 2025. PFA’s minimum lead teacher pay is $22.07, going to $22.67 next month – more than $4 per hour more than Preschool Promise, Head Start, and OPK.
Preschool for All has a pay matrix of higher minimums for people with more formal qualifications. Each pay level will rise to maintain its relationship to lead teacher salaries while lead teacher salaries grow to parity with kindergarten teachers.

Perhaps due to a limited hours of care and a limited number of locations, a much higher proportion of spots in state preschool programs are going unused in Multnomah County than in Preschool for All’s longer hours and more numerous sites – meaning greater proximity to more families.

Building a Strong Foundation Takes Time

AND PFA IS ON TRACK

A pandemic-scarred childcare system Is being rebuilt — quickly

Multnomah County lost 1 in 5 childcare providers during the pandemic, which wasn’t known when PFA’s expansion plan was first created. Multnomah County is building back a high-quality, equitable system practically from scratch.
Despite these challenges, PFA is catching up quickly, with a clear path to universal access by 2030 — free preschool for every child who wants it.

PFA Isn’t Just Filling Seats — It’s Growing a Workforce

PFA works with established providers now to get kids into classrooms, while also helping them to expand, building new programs and training new providers through the PFA Pathways program.
This ensures long-term sustainability, local job creation, and homegrown quality care.
PFA is also providing scholarships and training for people interested in early childhood education jobs, especially now that PFA is creating living wage jobs with benefits.
Living wages keeps dedicated, experienced teachers in the profession, maintaining care relationships, providing mentoring to new teachers and raising the quality of preschool.

Preschool for All is an Economic Engine

NOT A COST

Better Pay for Essential Workers = A Stronger Economy

PFA boosts wages for classroom assistants by 26%, making early education a real career path — not just a rewarding job you’ll need to leave as you gain more responsibility for supporting a family.
These better-paid workers spend locally, stay in the community, and stabilize Portland’s workforce.
The program is also creating scholarships and educational pipelines to bring in the next generation of early educators.

Women Stay in the Workforce, Families Grow Stronger

Access to full-time, year-round preschool means parents — especially mothers — can finish degrees, rejoin the workforce or work more hours, and grow their careers.
This fuels economic independence, reduces reliance on safety-net programs, and leads to long-term upward mobility.

Financial Responsibility = A Rainy Day Fund, not Excess Cash

PFA’s Reserves Are Smart Planning, Not Waste

The so-called “excess” funds are needed to expand to full universality, saved in the early years to spend in later years.
Some of these funds are intentionally reserved for future instability — something even the county economist, Jeff Renfro, has said is not a question of if, but when we next experience an economic downturn or unexpected adversity, like a recession or loss of federal funding for programs like Head Start.
In 2021-22, capital gains incomes were abnormally high, spiking tax revenues. With a potential recession coming, it’s fiscally prudent to have reserves — just like any well-run organization.

This is not the time to take our foot off the gas. The original goals are still in reach if we accelerate instead of focusing on bumps in the road

It’s true that Preschool for All hasn’t yet hit the original seat targets — but let’s be clear: those goals were set before a global pandemic gutted the already-struggling childcare sector. Multnomah County lost nearly 20% of its providers, and we’re still rebuilding.
Despite that, PFA is exceeding the revised post-Covid goals, and that’s a major success.We’re still on track to achieve full universality by Fall 2030.
PFA is not the problem; it’s the solution to a broken childcare system and a big boost for young families also facing high housing costs and student debt payments.

This Program is Working

AND LIVES ARE CHANGING

Preschool for All is making “The American Dream” a reality for families

Participating families have seen up to $26,000 in annual savings! But this is about more than just saving money.
There are countless stories of families whose lives have been dramatically improved by gaining access to this program. One PFA mother was able to finish nursing school and find a path out of low-wage jobs. Another family went from scraping by while paying for childcare for their first child, to joining the top 10% and proudly paying this tax themselves, after their second child got a PFA seat. These stories are proof that investment in families works.
PFA is not just about care — it’s about breaking cycles of poverty, creating opportunity, and ensuring a future for every child, no matter their zip code.

Don’t Fall for the Bait-and-Switch

We know the playbook — “Change the funding source” = dismantle the program

Calls to “change the funding model” are a first step toward hobbling Preschool for All.
Very wealthy men are polling to repeal the preschool tax – and unravel a program that is already working for thousands of local families.

Smart Path Forward = Investment & Improvement

We can and should make Preschool for All even better.

We should:

Improve child-to-adult ratios for higher quality care (8:1 instead of 10:1).
Raise wages for assistant teachers to keep and grow more talent in the field.
Offer more culturally-specific care and non-traditional hours to meet the true needs of working families.
Give providers and teachers more support, and reform teacher training pathways to recognize skills gained through experience, as well as through education and trainings.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Preschool for All is a smart investment for Multnomah County, a successful program, and a moral commitment. It lifts families, strengthens our economy, and secures our future. Let’s make it clear: the voters have spoken and we’re not going back.