St. Paul Mayor Carter vetoes tax-raising early childhood education ballot measure

Mayor Melvin Carter vetoed a resolution that would ask voters in St. Paul’s 2024 election whether to raise the property tax levy to pay for early childhood care and learning for low-income families in the city.

The resolution was originally passed by the City Council in a 5-2 vote. If no council member changes their vote, the council could override Carter’s veto.

As written now, the measure orders a special election that will ask voters to authorize the city to raise the property tax levy incrementally each year for 10 years. The total amount raised is estimated to be $20 million by the end of the decade with the cost being a compounding $16 a year to the average household.

Carter said he applauds the effort and ambition of the current proposal, but he said it’s not practical or actionable. He said the proposed tax rate would raise half of what the city needs to fully cover early care and learning for children in the targeted households.

The current proposal intends to fund early childhood education for low-income families who qualify, partially subsidize families who have a slightly higher net income and support childcare providers.

“It would be dishonest for me not to share that this is just not the type of actionable public policy that we can depend on to make things better for St. Paul families,” Carter told MPR News.

Critics of the proposal argue there are too many details that still need to be ironed out before it goes into practice, including how to certify families’ income levels and the criteria for evaluating providers.

“We don't have the infrastructure to do those things. Institutions like the county and the school district do,” Carter said. “To implement this, it would cost St. Paul millions of dollars to just build the infrastructure to get to the starting line.”

If Carter’s veto is not overridden, council members have until August 2024, to approve a proposal to get on the ballot. But the council’s makeup could change by then with four out of seven seats up for election in the fall.

Carter’s veto comes as a disappointment to the resolution’s sponsors, council members Nelsie Yang and Rebecca Noecker, who are both running for re-election.

"The Legislature made large investments in early childhood this past session. Unfortunately, it falls short of reaching many of St. Paul’s poorest children under 3, let alone working families that are struggling with the high cost of child care and early learning,” Yang said in a statement.

Supporters of the measure argue that while there are programs available for struggling families, they don’t address a lack of early intervention.

“Investing in our youngest children simply can’t wait,” Noecker said. “The first five years of a child’s life are when their brains are rapidly developing and they’re acquiring critical language and problem-solving abilities. We need to make this investment when it really counts.”

Community advocates for early education have also expressed disappointment in Carter’s decision to veto the measure. The resolution to increase the property tax levy for early care and learning came out of the Early Learning Legislative Advisory Committee, formed last year of council members, residents and organizations. Committee co-chair Quentin Ocama argues voters should decide the issue, not the mayor.

“As an educator and organizer, the time spent on this committee made one thing clear — the work to create a system that works for St. Paul and the needs of our diverse families shouldn’t be the decision of one person,” Ocama said in a statement.

Public school board member Halla Henderson said while the mayor raises good questions about how the program will work, the matter of the resolution should be an ongoing conversation.

“It's really important to just start with the fact that this is not the end-all, be-all. This is step one, right?” Henderson said. “I don't think anyone believes that we're going to be able to reach every single family and person in St. Paul, on the first day. I do think that with a really strong plan, we are able to have clear, incremental goals of how we get there.”

Henderson said the investment in early care and learning would show families from marginalized communities that the city is serious about its commitment to families and children.

The City Council has 30 days to revote to override the veto.

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