GUILFORD — Sara Coffey has represented Guilford and Vernon since 2018, and in her work at the State House she always has in mind the best interests of our residents here in southern Vermont.
As a parent of young children who recently attended private preschool programs, and as a public-school early-childhood teacher, I have seen the incredible inequities that exist in our early child care system.
While parents pay upwards of 25 percent of their paychecks to cover child care needs, teachers at private child care and preschool centers in Vermont make a median wage of $13.27 an hour, less than many fast food workers!
Many child care providers also do not receive health care or other benefits. Those of us lucky enough to have jobs in the public school system make a livable wage that allows us to support our families, but so many highly qualified early-childhood educators are barely scraping by.
Research shows that 80 percent of a child's brain develops by the time they are 3 years old, and the importance of high-quality early-childhood education cannot be overstated. Yet we exist within a system in which parents can't afford to pay more, and teachers can't afford to work for less.
Sara Coffey has supported important legislative efforts to address the inequity that exists in our early-childhood educational system.
The Child Care Financial Assistance Program encourages people to join the teacher workforce through scholarship and loan forgiveness programs. It also expands the eligibility requirements for families requesting assistance in paying for child care.
Importantly, the program sets a goal that no family should pay more than 10 percent of their income for child care, and that early-childhood teachers get paid as much as their colleagues with similar credentials in public schools.
Sara has also supported tax credits for Vermont parents in a bill that will give $1,000 per year to parents and guardians for every qualifying child 5 years of age or younger.
We need Sara to continue her work supporting Vermont families and teachers.