Child Care Affordability
At a glance
Based on uploaded (human-made) captions. Figures are the presenters' claims and are not verified here.
- What: presentation by child care advocates on the cost and availability of child care in Saint Paul and low early educator pay.
- Where it stands: briefing and councilmember comments; the advocates asked the council to back universal child care at the state level. No vote.
- Next: none scheduled in the record.
Key points
- Average center cost was given as $23,452 a year, above University of Minnesota tuition; educators earn about $18 to $20 an hour and seven long-standing Saint Paul centers closed last year.
- Parents described waitlists, costs near a mortgage payment, and teacher turnover affecting their children.
- Asks: support and testify for universal child care at the state, keep educators of color and immigrants in mind, and raise revenue from large businesses.
- Councilmember Johnson (named only as "Johnson" in the captions) described paying about $500 a week; other councilmembers said child care costs and pay push women out of the workforce and asked about redistributing wealth from high earners.
Sources
- 2026-10-14 - Policy Committee (uploaded captions)
- https://stpaul.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
Discussion time
About 24 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-14 - Policy Committee | 24 |
Log
- 2026-10-14 - Policy Committee - Advocates presented child care costs, educator pay and center closures; councilmembers shared their own experience.