Eligible providers across Dallas County could qualify for a new state provision aimed at addressing child care deserts and potentially receive property tax relief as soon as possible.
The city estimates that about 200 properties in Dallas could qualify for the exemption, with a total market value of more than $92 million.
The region recently became the first in Texas to reduce property taxes at both the city and county level after the City Council and Dallas County Commissioners voted to reduce property taxes for child care providers in their respective jurisdictions starting next year. It became an area that offered tax breaks.
“This is a game changer,” said Dee Chhabra, owner of Spring Creek Private School, which serves about 140 children ranging from infants to 13 years old.
Advocates for quality early childhood care and education support these proposals, pointing to the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds that have allowed some child care providers to keep their doors open. There is.
Chhabra said the relief could give the center in North Dallas some leeway to increase teacher salaries and lower costs for parents.
“It's difficult to retain some of these great teachers because of the very high standards.” [wages] They can participate in other areas besides childcare,” he said.
The tax cut proposal gained momentum when Texas voters approved Proposition 2 in November. An amendment to the state constitution allows counties and local governments to exempt qualifying child care centers from 50% to 100% of their property taxes. To be eligible, at least 20% of a center's enrollment must be made up of families receiving state-subsidized child care.
Across Texas, the cities of Denton, Austin, and Houston and the counties of Aransas, Bexar, El Paso, Harris, Hays, and Travis have approved such proposals. Other cities and counties are also considering the move.
To qualify for the tax break as early as this year, providers must apply to the Dallas Central Appraisal District by the end of April. This form can be downloaded from the Texas Comptroller's website.
Texas is full of parenting deserts. Just under half of the state's residents live in such areas, according to the Center for American Progress, a nonprofit public policy research and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
Eleven of Dallas County's 93 ZIP codes are child care deserts, according to data from Children at Risk, a Houston-based research and advocacy nonprofit.
A survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children found earlier this year that child care providers are facing challenges such as understaffing, under-capacity, and rising operating costs such as rent and property insurance.
Providing competitive salaries is also a big challenge. Supporters hope the tax cuts will provide relief and help funnel money to other costs, keep businesses open and support workers.
The Commit Partnership estimates that more than 60% of children under the age of 6 in Dallas County have both parents working.
“Lack of child care is a significant barrier to workforce participation for parents in our region,” Jarrad Toussaint, senior vice president of workforce and education at the Dallas Regional Chamber, said in a statement. (Our chamber sponsors the Education Lab.)
The waiver will help “ensure working parents in North Texas have access to quality early care and education,” he said.
Metropolitan Way United Way of Dallas has created a video to help child care providers navigate the application process.
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DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative supported by Bobby and Lottie Lyle, Community Foundation of Texas, Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Dee Dee Rhodes, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Meadows Foundation, Murrell Foundation, and Solutions. I am receiving support. Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sidney Smith Hicks, University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control over Education Lab's journalism.
