Mass. Early Educators Will Get A Raise After State Board Vote

Early educators are getting a raise after the Board of Early Education and Care voted Wednesday for a $20 million rate increase to be put toward improved programming and higher salaries for teachers and staff, according to the Baker administration.

The funding was approved by the Legislature as part of the fiscal 2020 budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in July, and allows for a 3.52% increase in the daily reimbursement rates for state-subsidized child care programs.

The board also authorized the department to raise the daily add-on rate for children under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families to $19 a day from $18.22 per day.

"These additional raises will help stabilize the workforce, ensure programs can pay good teachers more and continue to build on the quality of educational programs," Education Secretary James Peyser said in a statement.

The new rate increases come after an earlier boost approved by the board in May for the new fiscal year of $7.2 million to bring regional rates across the state closer to the market rate.

Child care providers have received increases in each of the past three years, including a 4.58% increase in fiscal 2019 and 8% in fiscal 2018. The department subsidizes the enrollment of approximately 55,000 children in early education programs.