Summary
Voters in Travis County will see a proposition related to increasing access to affordable child care on their ballot this year.
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Don't forget to vote! Early voting lasts from October 21st to November 1st and Election Day is on November 5th.
Election season is here! And while all eyes are on the presidential race, here at The Austin Common, we like to focus on local elections, which tend to get the least amount of media attention… but are super important to our everyday lives!
Voters in Travis County will see Travis County Prop A on their ballot this year. Here’s the exact ballot language – “Approving the ad valorem tax rate of $0.344445 per $100 valuation in County of Travis for the current year, a rate that is $0.025 higher per $100 valuation than the voter-approval tax rate of County of Travis, for the purpose of increasing access to affordable and high-quality child care and afterschool/summer programming and related services for low-income families and developing and administering related workforce and economic development programs. Last year, the ad valorem tax rate in County of Travis was $0.304655 per $100 valuation. “
And what the heck does that mean? Keep scrolling to check out our guide, which explains it all for ya!
You can read through the work group’s report here.
Information about the average cost of child care comes from the 2024 Texas Child Care Market Rate survey and wait list info comes from Workforce Solutions.
Click here to read through the entire 2023 “Childcare & Economic Development In Austin” report. Additional information about child care providers that closed during COVID can be found here.
You can learn more about all of these strategies by reading the paper published by the Children’s Funding Project Work Group.
Quotes and information for this guide come from original interviews with Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Cathy McHorse (with the Affordable Child Care Now Coalition). Additional info comes from the Children’s Funding Project Work Group report and county documents.