ST. LOUIS – The nonprofit Child Care Aware of Missouri has endorsed Amendment 3, otherwise known as the Early Childhood Health and Education Amendment.
“We all know that children need to be healthy to learn and need to learn to succeed,” said L. Carol Scott, PhD, CEO of Child Care Aware® of Missouri. “This initiative will bring better quality early education to thousands of Missouri children, and—as a result—set our state on a path toward lower crime, a better economy, and a more educated workforce.”
Child Care Aware joins the Missouri Budget Project, Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri NAACP, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Kansas City Mayor Sly James in publicly supporting the amendment.
Amendment 3’s campaign, Yes on Amendment 3, says Missouri trails other states in publicly funding early childhood education. Iowa has 60% of 4-year-olds enrolled in state-funding pre-schools, while Oklahoma has 76% enrollment.
The amendment seeks to tax cigarette products at 60 cents a pack a in order to bring in approximately $300 million annually. Missouri currently has the lowest cigarette tax in the nation.
“We cannot wait until kids are in kindergarten to begin investing in them,” added Scott. “This guaranteed $300 million per year will make a tremendous difference for children in every Missouri community. Amendment 3 serves the best interest of the 460,000 kids in Missouri. A yes vote is the right thing to do for our children – and our state.”
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.