Spokane, Spokane Public Schools to pilot affordable childcare program this fall

More affordable childcare options for children up to 3 years old are coming to Spokane this fall.

Local education officials and providers joined Mayor Lisa Brown at Ice Age Floods Playground to announce a joint city of Spokane and Spokane Public Schools pilot program that will increase access to affordable early childhood care. The school district will provide the space, at no cost to the childcare providers, while the city will vet and write contracts with licensed childcare professionals.

Information about the costs to the schools and the costs to the city to draft contracts with providers is unclear. No money for this program is coming from city funds, city spokesperson Erin Hut said.

The city has been working to streamline the permit process for childcare centers, Brown said, and has removed some of the barriers required last year. The conditional use permit has been waived, and the city now allows facilities to open in both residential and commercial zones.

However, for a significant financial change to occur in the cost of childcare, Brown said federal and state investments are needed.

“We hope that this pilot helps inspire those investments that we definitely need,” she said.

As the pilot program grows, city officials and childcare providers hope job opportunities in the child development sector grow as well.

“We do want to encourage people to consider childcare and early learning as a workforce option,” Brown said. “It can be a real benefit to our community if we can expand, and at the same time, the workforce has the spaces.”

Childcare is not just an issue for families to solve, said Kaylan Sisco, the CEO of the YMCA of the Inland Northwest. It takes multiple sectors to solve the problem.

“This is not only a familial issue. It’s a workforce issue, it’s an economic development issue, it’s not singular to the childcare world,” he said.

Families will still be expected to pay for the care, but the tuition will be reduced because providers will not be required to pay rent for the care facilities, spokesperson Hut said.

The founder of Lilac City Early Learning Center, Colleen Condon, said the bulk of student tuition goes towards paying teacher salaries.

“Eighty-five percent of our revenue goes to teacher wages, and there’s no real way to drive down that cost,” she said.

Affordable childcare is not just an issue for Spokane, Condon said, it’s a state- and nationwide issue.

She hopes Spokane’s pilot program inspires legislators in Olympia.

“I love the fact that I get to turn around and go to those statewide spaces and say, ‘Look what Spokane is doing, we’re leaning in, we’re doing new things, and it can still be done,’ ” Condon said.

Balboa and Whitman elementaries, plus the Garland Center, which houses the MAP Program, will host the initial run of the program.

“Our incredible providers, they need more spaces, they need more slots, they need more partnerships to be able to bring that affordable child care to every family who needs it by offering it in our neighborhood elementary schools,” said Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Adam Swinyard. “The school district should be a partner, with other partners, both public and private, coming together to work on getting after the challenges that face our community. This is a beautiful example of that.”

Representatives from the YMCA, Raze Early Learning and Lilac City Early Learning Center announced their commitment to affordable, quality early childhood development. All acknowledged the burden that growing costs of childcare put on families and emphasized the need for community support.

Kerra Bower, founder of Raze Early Learning and Development Center, said the city doesn’t just need more daycare options; it needs to support existing facilities.

“We need to also look at the challenges that are happening in our child care systems currently, and one of those very large challenges are the behaviors that we see in classrooms,” she said. “It is affecting our teachers, affecting their mental health, it’s affecting their ability to stay in the field and their ability to continue to provide what we all need, which is quality childcare.”