Education subcommittee reviews SB 5514, governor’s budget for Department of Early Learning and Care

The Education Subcommittee met Monday, March 3, a little after 1 p.m., to hear an informational presentation on Senate Bill 5514, the governor’s recommended 2025–27 budget for the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC). DAS and DELC staff described the agency’s funding mix, program priorities, recent audit findings and planned investments in licensing and IT while answering lawmakers’ questions.

The presentation matters because DELC administers programs that affect families, early childhood providers and employers statewide — including the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) subsidy, preschool programs, and licensing that enforces health and safety standards. Committee members and agency leaders focused on a growing ERDC wait list, federal funding rules tied to the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), investments to expand literacy and tribal funding, and operational risks tied to IT and staffing.

Mike Streepi, representing the DAS Chief Financial Office, told the committee ERDC implemented a wait list in November 2023 that has grown to “over 10,000 families,” and the governor’s recommended budget does not assume changes to ERDC eligibility or wait-list protocols. Streepi said the governor’s budget shifts certain one-time federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds onto ongoing general fund to maintain subsidy commitments and adds ongoing general fund support for previously temporary payments. He also detailed specific budget items: a $20 million one-time shift onto federal CCDF carry-forward to save general fund in ERDC, a reported roughly $60 million shortfall in Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) revenue recognized elsewhere in the education budget but not reducing DELC’s recommended budget, and an assumed Student Success Act beginning balance of about $32,600,000 to help cover 2025–27 expenses.

Alyssa Chatterjee, DELC director, summarized the…