AUSTIN, Texas — A South Austin child care facility explained how it's planning to use extra money from recent tax cuts.
A new resolution gives child care providers 100% property tax abatement.
Representatives from Sweet Briar Child Development Center said now that money can go towards the children they look after and their staff.
A member of the center said they will be able to reinvest some of the money into new furnishings for the center, making sure they have top of the line curriculum and giving their teachers a competitive salary.
Since the pandemic started, almost every industry has felt the strain of retaining good workers. The child care industry was no different.
Many providers have struggled to keep qualified staff. But this new tax abatement will give them more tools to work with.
"I mean, it takes great teachers to have a great center. So from a retention aspect, from a training aspect and also just getting top talent here within the four walls here, is a huge aspect of that," said Madalyn Smith, quality program coordinator for the Sweet Brier Child Development Center. "We spend countless hours here at the center training, recruiting and also making sure that the people who work here that have a huge impact on your child love their job and are able to support their own families. And that's what we'll be doing with the funding."
The center's goal is to have consistent stability from top talent to have the best impact on the children’s early development.
Sweet Briar has been around since 1961 and said it has seen a lot of evolution in the industry over the years. Representatives with the center say the state of Texas, and now the City of Austin, have done a lot to support child care facilities.
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