A half-cent sales tax increase to generate funding for early childhood education in the City of St. Louis will be on the ballot this November.
Proposition B, backed by the Best Start for Kids STL campaign, would generate $22.4 million annually for early childhood education. The revenue would be used in two ways: grants for providers to grow and stabilize the childcare workforce, and subsidies for families to make childcare more affordable.
Currently, more than 6,000 St. Louis city children ages five and under who live in poverty lack access to childcare, which can cost as much as $31,000 per year for an infant, according to the campaign…