How many Tarrant County child care programs are utilizing property tax relief this year?
After Tarrant County and various cities recently passed property tax breaks for certain child care facilities this year, appraisal district data shows that about 59% of eligible providers will be reaping the much-needed financial benefits.
Out of the roughly 145 eligible child care providers across the county, 85 applied for the exemption by the July 1 deadline, which had been extended from the original deadline of June 28, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District. The official stamps on these exemptions were approved over the past three months by Fort Worth, Arlington, Saginaw and Tarrant County. All cities passed a 100% exemption while the County Commissioners Court approved a 50% exemption, which was passed on June 18, less than two weeks before the appraisal district’s application deadline.
Child care program administrators have applauded the new tax breaks as they voiced their financial struggles to provide livable wages to their staff while keeping tuition for families as affordable as they can. To qualify for the exemption, providers were required to have at least 20% of their enrolled children receiving subsidized child care services. They were also required to be part of Texas Rising Star, the state’s quality rating and improvement system for early childhood programs.
Cynthia Tatum, owner of the Toddlers Den Early Learning Center in east Fort Worth, told the Star-Telegram she found out about the exemption through a networking group with other child care providers in the area. She paid between $7,000 and $8,000 in property taxes last year, she said.
This year, the plan is to utilize the tax savings toward payroll for staff as the center’s budget has been impacted by the loss of federal COVID-19 relief funding and loss of subsidies for qualifying families. As a result, she’s had to cut staff’s hours.
“Bottom line, I’m trying to hold on to my staff,” Tatum said. “We’re at a crunch because our enrollment is down… There’s no funding from the government or from Tarrant County Child Care Management Services right now. I’m still trying to help my parents to stay in child care, because they still have to work… my prices, I’m trying to meet them where they can afford child care.”
The number of applications submitted by providers throughout Tarrant County included:
28 in Fort Worth
24 in Arlington
3 in Saginaw
30 in Tarrant County
The 30 child care providers in the Tarrant County category are either located in unincorporated Tarrant or in a municipality that did not pass its own, separate property tax exemption, according to appraisal district staff.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare did not respond to requests for comment about the number of child care programs utilizing the tax exemption this year. The maximum amount of savings passed along to providers was estimated at $200,000, according to county records. County spokesperson Bill Hanna said the county will have a final number on the tax exemption’s impact later this month once the certified appraisal roll is issued by the Tarrant Appraisal District.
In the city of Fort Worth, the 28 child care providers account for a 52% turnout out of 54 identified eligible programs. The maximum estimated revenue loss to the city was also $200,000.
Mayor Mattie Parker told the Star-Telegram that the turnout was “a significant accomplishment and start to this brand new program” as the city continues to encourage other providers to utilize this tax break in the future.
Parker acknowledged that a delayed timeline, especially in Tarrant County, could have created challenges for providers to submit paperwork on time. According to city staff, Tarrant County and Fort Worth were among the last major local governments in Texas to have passed the exemptions after a statewide constitutional amendment — approved by almost 65% of Texas voters in November — gave local governments the option to provide the tax relief.
“Despite this, I am proud of the city’s investment and the support of several community partners such as Child Care Associates. I remain dedicated to the continued success of this effort and look forward to growing the program to provide even more child care providers with meaningful property tax relief,” Parker said. “During my time as mayor, I have been proud to champion several efforts to advance affordable child care in Fort Worth and will continue to do so. As I’ve repeatedly said, quality, affordable, and accessible child care is vital for our community’s success. We are committed to supporting child care providers and the families they serve.”
Staff with Child Care Associates, one of the largest child development organizations in North Texas, had helped to promote and inform providers of the tax exemptions through emails and phone calls to providers among the discussions and final approvals, according to Fort Worth city staff and the organization’s CEO and President Kara Waddell.
Waddell said she was impressed by the turnout of providers who applied for the tax relief and expected it to expand to more programs moving forward.
“This is year one. This is a multi-year (exemption), it’s not a single-year tax exemption. We’ve got years ahead of us that providers will be able to take advantage of it,” Waddell said. “The property tax is just one step in 100 that we need to start taking across the state, just to begin to help child care be part of a thriving industry that makes sure that we have the child care that our workforce needs. It’s a small step in the right direction, and I think year-by-year, we’re going to continue to see more participation.”
