Hopes ran high Tuesday night at The Gramophone in St. Louis’ Grove neighborhood, where educators, organizers and community advocates gathered to watch returns on Proposition B. By the end of the night, the mood had turned.
St. Louis voters rejected the proposed half-cent sales tax intended to expand access to affordable child care. With all 67 precincts reporting, unofficial results from the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners showed 52.8% voting against the measure and 47.2% in favor.
“It’s really a sad day, honestly, for St. Louis,” said Lisa Scheer, treasurer of Best Start for Kids STL.
Proposition B would have generated an estimated $22.4 million annually to help families afford child care, improve early childhood educator wages and strengthen local providers.
The Best Start for Kids STL campaign, supported by WEPOWER and a coalition of child care providers, parents and advocates, gathered approximately 36,000 petition signatures to bring the measure before voters. WEPOWER also led the 2020 campaign for Proposition R, a city property tax for early childhood education.
Opponents objected to adding another sales tax and raised questions about financial oversight. City Counselor Michael Garvin, who took no position on the measure, warned that a portion of the revenue could be claimed for police funding, potentially reducing the amount available for child care from $22.4 million to about $16.8 million annually. Campaign attorneys disputed his interpretation.
Charli Cooksey, founder and CEO of WEPOWER, challenged critics of the measure to help develop alternative solutions.
“Hopefully they’ll have even more solutions than they have critiques,” Cooksey said. “I hope that they wake up tomorrow, first thing, and they get to work.”