St. Paul voters say 'no' to ‘free childcare’ tax levy on ballot

St. Paul child care tax hike ballot question

St. Paul residents will be voting for a proposed tax hike to help fund child care costs. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim explains.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Paul voters have decided the fate of a childcare tax levy that supporters say would have helped fund daycare for families in need, but opponents have said it wouldn’t be sustainable long-term financially – ultimately rejecting the idea as it was proposed before them during the 2024 general election ballot.

Vote results

According to the Minnesota Secretary of State election results, the ballot measure was rejected with 59.94% of the votes, or 77,064 residents, voting "no".

A total of 51,501 votes, or 40,06%, were in favor of the measure.

Mayor Carter explains childcare veto

St. Paul voters will soon get to decide whether they want to pay more in taxes in order to ensure free childcare for kids five-years-old and younger. The St. Paul City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to over-ride Mayor Melvin Carter’s veto of the initiative and let voters decide in November 2024.

Background

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter previously said that even if voters approved it, his administration would not implement the program.

In August 2023, the St. Paul City Council voted to approve a ballot measure to go before voters that would ultimately provide an estimated $20 million to fund free childcare for children whose families make less than 185% of the federal poverty level, or about $55,500 annually.

Carter vetoed the proposal, saying he had "no other choice" after his team went over the numbers, and couldn’t make the finances make sense.

Although there wasn’t a fiscal analysis conducted, Carter said the entire cost would approach a minimum of $111 million annually – $81 million for fully funding childcare for families under the poverty level, $20 million for partially funding childcare for families earning more, and $10 million for administrative costs.

The city council then voted 5-2 to override Carter’s veto, and send the issue to voters this November.

In September, the St. Paul Federation of Educators – which represents thousands of teachers throughout St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) – said its union members do not support the measure, at the time saying it, "would require St. Paul taxpayers to fund yet another voucher program, moving more public dollars to private and for-profit child care providers with no plan."

When asked how he voted on a St. Paul childcare referendum, Gov. Tim Walz didn’t respond directly except to say he followed the advice of St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.