Commissioner-backed campaign wants to tax the rich to fund free preschool in Oregon’s most populous county: Election 2020 preview

Fall school plans in Oregon

Audrey's parents are hesitant to hire a babysitter or nanny because they want to keep their social bubble as tight as possible as the pandemic shows no sign of slowing down. "It's just nerve wracking. We're trying to be as safe as we can be," her mother, Alex Gatley, said.Eder Campuzano/Staff

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Multnomah County voters will decide whether to tax incomes above $125,000 to eventually fund free preschool for every child age 3 and older, starting with programs for the county’s most economically disadvantaged families of color starting next fall, the measure’s backers say.

The county commission placed on the ballot a tax measure that is a compromise between differing proposals advanced by Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson and the Universal Preschool Now campaign, which collected over 23,000 signatures for its own initiative petition.

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