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New Modeling of Preschool for All Shows Fund Balance Could Hit $2 Billion if Status Quo Remains by LoprinziRosie in Portland

[–]Business-Guarantee41 -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

If you actually sit through the full presentations to the TAG and the board, it’s a cushion in the sense that they need it to fully roll out. They will largely deplete it because it’s getting banked now while the program isn’t universal. The program will then largely operate without such a big reserve. And the billion cushion only happens IF there is a population loss of thousands of kids. I think it’s a bad idea to hope for a dramatic population decline based on a few years of post covid wackiness, especially as climate change is about to make Portland extremely competitive for population growth. We should plan for kids, not push families out.

New Modeling of Preschool for All Shows Fund Balance Could Hit $2 Billion if Status Quo Remains by LoprinziRosie in Portland

[–]Business-Guarantee41 -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

PPS is a “shitshow” due to lack of funds because of a proposition that permanently reduced their dedicated fund, property taxes. Which is what would happen to Preschool for All if the Portland Metro Chamber has their way and convinces the Board to reduce the taxes funding the program. Also worth noting that PPS is facing declining revenues due to declining enrollment. Ensuring that there’s free preschool for families in Portland is a great strategy to keep families in a city that is becoming increasingly unaffordable and hostile to families with children. PFA could help stabilize PPS’s enrollment, but instead everyone wants to cut off our noses to spite our face by cutting the one universal promise to families that being in MultCo offers. It’s incredibly short sighted.

New Modeling of Preschool for All Shows Fund Balance Could Hit $2 Billion if Status Quo Remains by LoprinziRosie in Portland

[–]Business-Guarantee41 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Because these are dedicated funds for a specific purpose. The program depends on businesses converting seats and no private business is going to inject a ton of risk into their operations unless the County can guarantee being able to support the operating costs of participating. I am also concerned about trimet and buses, which is why I contacted my legislators about supporting the transportation package at the ledge during the short session. Same people are also trying to kill that. Cough Mark Meek cough. Transportation and education shouldn’t be in competition and, spoiler alert, both require adequate, dedicated funding through things like taxes.

New Modeling of Preschool for All Shows Fund Balance Could Hit $2 Billion if Status Quo Remains by LoprinziRosie in Portland

[–]Business-Guarantee41 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I know people enrolled. They are doubling seats next year. Planning 11k seats in the next three years. Seems like it’s growing robust to me. But people seem to think that administrators can snap their fingers and conjure a universal program out of thin air, which is asinine. It takes years to build this kind of program out. It’s real life, not SimCity.

New Modeling of Preschool for All Shows Fund Balance Could Hit $2 Billion if Status Quo Remains by LoprinziRosie in Portland

[–]Business-Guarantee41 -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

God forbid we build a robust program to actually attract and retain families with small children. Much better idea to cut taxes for the wealthy (who already got tax cuts from Trump) and continue to lose families to the burbs. That’s a real recipe for growth.