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San Francisco director tells Boston councilors 'Baby Prop C' funding boosted early childhood wages and access — offering lessons for Boston
Summary
In testimony to Boston councilors, Ingrid Mesquita, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood, described San Francisco's commercial rent tax and local investments (referred to as 'Baby Prop C') that the city says increased educator wages and nearly eliminated the wait list for lower‑income families.
In a presentation to Boston’s Committee on Post Audit on Sept. 18, Ingrid Mesquita, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood, described San Francisco’s local funding model and the policies the city has used to expand access and raise early educator wages.
Mesquita told councilors San Francisco voters approved a measure that directs a portion of commercial rent tax revenue to early childhood programs. “We collect around a 184,000,000, from commercial rent tax,” she said, adding that San Francisco reserves a portion of that revenue for services she described as building a birth‑to‑5 mixed‑delivery system that includes family child care, center‑based care and district preschool.
Mesquita described a set of investments she said were central to San Francisco’s approach: - A local revenue source (commercial rent tax) dedicated in part to early childhood access and services. - Wage supplements and a local wage floor: Mesquita said the city aims to raise educator pay and cited an entry floor of $28 an hour as a minimum target for early educators; she said the city had set aside funds to raise wages and career pathways for educators. - Facility grants and language‑accessible supports for family child care providers, including grants for repairs and renovations and professional development in multiple languages.
Why San Francisco’s model matters to Boston Mesquita framed her remarks as a resource for Boston and emphasized the scale of the local commitment: “We want to make sure that children have access to loving caregivers in very safe environments,” she said, and that raising wages was central to retaining educators. She characterized San Francisco’s investments as aiming for parity with district pay and said local funding supported both universal preschool and new investments for infants and toddlers.
Caveat on figures: Mesquita cited multiple funding figures in her remarks (including the annual commercial rent tax collection and a separate reference to a wage pool she described as set aside to raise educator pay). Those numbers were presented by Mesquita; they reflect her testimony and should be verified with San Francisco budget documents for precise accounting.
Ending: Mesquita offered San Francisco as a resource for Boston and said city staff were available to share detailed implementation experience. Boston councilors and staff said they welcomed the opportunity to study local funding models used by other cities as they consider longer‑term, sustainable supports for family child care providers.
