Wake County Smart Start asks county for $842,000 to shore up pre‑K teacher pay and 3‑year‑old behavioral supports

Wake County Smart Start asked the Wake County Board of Commissioners’ education committee on March 24 to include roughly $403,000 for NC Pre‑K teacher reimbursement increases and about $439,000 for program and behavioral supports for the Wake 3 School program in the county manager’s fiscal‑year 2026 recommended budget.

The request targets two persistent problems: teacher pay that lags Wake County Public Schools and a growing number of three‑year‑old children with social‑emotional or behavior needs for which providers say they lack on‑site supports. Lindsey Davis, senior budget and management analyst, introduced the Smart Start team and the two part request.

Smart Start staff told commissioners that Wake County funds support both NC Pre‑K and the Wake 3 School pilot. The county currently funds 1,532 NC Pre‑K slots and about 300 slots for the Wake 3 School pilot; Smart Start said total county support across the two programs for FY25 was $7,751,563. Smart Start reported 4,556 applications for the current NC Pre‑K cycle, with 210 children on the verified NC Pre‑K wait list. For Wake 3 School, presenters said 314 children were being served and that, as of March 11, 3,833 children were on that program’s wait list.

Smart Start and county staff said the state reimbursement rate remains well below program cost. Presentation slides showed the gap between state funding and the total per‑child reimbursement increased between the early 2020s rate reviews: for centers with licensed birth‑through‑kindergarten teachers the gap rose from about $6,270 to $6,490 and for centers without those licensed teachers it rose from about $5,670 to $5,890.

Gary Carr, director of finance for Wake County Smart Start, described the current NC Pre‑K pay scale and the proposed increase. "Our current pay scale for a fully licensed teacher begins at $43,001.49 per year and goes up to $60,912 for 15 years of experience," Carr said. Smart Start asked the county to fund a 3% adjustment to that scale; Carr said the average teacher — about six years’ experience — would receive “a little bit less than $2,000 a year” on average from a 3% increase.

On Wake 3 School, speakers told the committee that a large share of children served qualify as “high priority” (homeless, in foster care or otherwise high need) and that providers are reporting more children with severe dysregulated behaviors. Gail Heedon, executive director of Wake County Smart Start, and Carol (director of early childhood initiatives) said Smart Start is proposing several responses rather than additional slots for FY26: screening the 300 Wake 3 School children already placed, doubling the number of social‑emotional learning specialists from one to two, and developing site‑based interventionists who can move between centers. Staff also described early conversations with local colleges and mental‑health partners (including Advanced Community Health) about internships or clinical partnerships to increase on‑site capacity.

Rob Linnens, director of advancement, described fundraising plans to expand private support. Linnens said philanthropic revenue is modest today — roughly 3% of Smart Start’s budget — and the organization has set a 2025 fundraising goal of $175,000. Gail Heedon told commissioners 97% of Smart Start’s budget is public dollars: “about 20% from Wake County and roughly 72% from state sources,” with the remaining 3% from grants and donations. Staff warned of federal funding vulnerability, noting that Smart Start and county budget staff continue to monitor TANF and other federal streams; staff said a federal funding disruption could expose up to roughly $4 million of Smart Start revenue.

Commissioners asked for clarifying information on conversion rates (how many applications become NC Pre‑K placements), actual dollar thresholds tied to income bands, and details on site selection for next year. Smart Start staff said they will supply conversion‑rate data and more precise eligibility thresholds after the March 31 application deadline closes.

Smart Start’s FY26 preliminary asks provided to county budget staff were: approximately $403,000 for NC Pre‑K reimbursement increases and about $439,000 for Wake 3 School programmatic and behavioral supports. Presenters said the Wake 3 School ask covers FTEs, supplies and program management to strengthen supports for the children currently enrolled before expanding slots further.

If commissioners or county budget staff request more detail, Smart Start said it will provide line‑by‑line budget worksheets, finalized site counts after selection visits, and the conversion‑rate analysis once the application cycle closes on March 31.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Smart Start staff for the presentation and asked staff to provide the additional requested data for budget deliberations. The committee then moved on to updates from the Wake County Public School System.