Proposition 2: Texans vote on child care property tax exemption

AUSTIN-- Texans voted on a proposal to allow property tax exemptions for running childcare centers in the Nov. 7 constitutional amendment election.

The Associated Press forecasted Texas Proposition 2, which stems from S.J.R. 64, would pass. The proposition establishes a property tax exemption based upon the assessed worth of a childcare facility. The exemption should be at least 50% of the residential or commercial property's assessed worth.

Election Results

Background

Since the pandemic, numerous federal COVID-19 relief programs were instilled to keep services and people afloat, such as the child care market. Much of those programs have or are set to expire.

Cynthia McCollum, the executive director of Open Door Preschools, emphasized that the schools she managed depended "enormously" on the pandemic relief cash.

" The only reason we had the ability to keep to open was since of the support and the funding that came through the state to us," McCollum stated. "But even with all of that, like I said, we had to close a school."

Proposal 2 is focused on providing some relief to childcare facilities to ease some of the monetary burdens that are frequently passed on to families in the type of higher tuition.

"Any expense savings that we can get can either be put towards our staffing costs to either pay greater salaries or employ more instructors," McCollum said.

BriTanya Brown, a community organizer with Childcare Changemakers, likewise showed Proposition 2 is a step in the right instructions, particularly with the increasing expenses of living.

"Many families can't pay for to pay for their childcare, however they understand that they need it to work," stated Brown.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation curated a report that discovers that childcare problems result in a loss of $9.4 billion each year in Texas.

Texans voted on numerous constitutional amendments, such as Proposition 2, on Nov. 7 in the constitutional change election.