Who Will Be Paying For NYC’s Expanded “Free” Childcare?

Alina Adams reports on the current messy situation of early education in NYC and the dangers of expanding it

As soon as NY Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani trumpeted they’d be bringing free childcare for two years olds to the Big Apple, the 5-Borough NYC Early Education Coalition of vendors already contracted by the Department of Education (DOE) to provide Universal Pre-K and 3K announced a February 12th “Day Without Community Based Organizations (CBO)” rally to protest the expansion.

The NYCEEC’s main points of contention are pay parity and the lack of a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).

“We are currently under a five-year contract set to expire in 2026,” Lori Cangiolose, Assistant Director of The Playgroup Experience, explained. “The city is proposing to extend contracts without any COLA. Over the past five years, every operational expense has increased – food, utilities, insurance, classroom supplies – yet our funding remained stagnant. This has made it increasingly difficult to keep our doors open, let alone fairly compensate staff.”

“CBO teachers are required to deliver the same DOE curriculum, follow the same regulations and expectations, and meet the same professional requirements as educators in public school 3K and Pre-K classrooms,” Diana Yudina, a teacher at Alphabet Academy confirmed. “We are required to hold the same credentials, including a master’s degree and certification, matching the qualifications of public school early childhood teachers. However, despite doing the same work and meeting the same requirements, CBO teachers do not receive equitable compensation.”

A new DOE teacher with only a Bachelor’s degree and no experience has a starting salary of $71,314. A certified, 30 year veteran teacher in a CBO earns a maximum of $68,652. Many earn considerably less.

“I have worked in this field for 37 years, 10 years within the DOE, and earn $40,000 annually,” Cangiolose divulged.

Many of those working in CBOs are also denied other benefits public school teachers receive, including union protections, pension eligibility, and health insurance.

“How is that fair?” demanded Chloe Pashman, a Bronx CBO School Leader. “Some staff work in the summer, and don’t have long holiday breaks. Many work 10-6 shifts. Is it because they’re located in the Bronx projects and serve children and families who are not white? Most of our staff is not white, and the majority are women. The city has gotten away with loading 3K and PreK on the backs of these women for so long – why wouldn’t they try it with 0-3 year olds? It’s a great deal for them. They get us all “on the cheap” and abuse us.”

In addition to inequitable salaries and benefits, those running CBOs are faced with regularly delayed payments from the DOE. Many of those working for the city report they were “forced to become a vendor of the DOE or face closure.” At a City Council hearing in 2025, one preschool director who’d run her formerly private center for decades was in tears as she explained that she might need to shut down unless the DOE was more prompt in paying what they owed her.

“Programs are expected to maintain and improve quality while operating on stagnant funding,” Stepping Stones Director Michele Kindya recounted. The low pay and onerous working hours contribute to a revolving door of staff and even to centers closing unexpectedly, leaving the families who counted on them with nowhere to go.

Every teacher and director who reached out to me stressed they support accessible childcare, but don’t believe schooling for 2’s should be offered while the state of 3PK and UPK remains precarious.

“Our system is expanding faster than it is reforming, and the consequences are falling squarely on educators and the programs that serve our youngest learners,” reported Joy Farina Foskett, MSEd/MSEd Special Education. “Conversations about expanding programming such as 2-K raise serious questions. Opportunity without infrastructure is not progress, it is risk. We cannot continue to roll out new programs without first addressing salaries, benefits, staffing, funding timelines, and workforce sustainability.”

“Reform Before Expansion is our motto,” Pashman summarized. “We need to fight for the hardest working and most qualified educators, staff, and leaders in the city who are being illegally underpaid and taken advantage of. I thought our city and state were run by ‘progressives’!”

When asked to comment on the above accusations, DOE Associate Press Secretary Dominique Ellison did not dispute any of the charges, only writing that, “We appreciate and value all teachers who dedicate themselves to educating NYC’s youngest learners. We will continue to advocate strongly for funding and policy solutions that support pay parity and workforce equity across community-based organizations. Whether they work in traditional school settings or CBOs, educators are the foundation of our early childhood education system, and their professionalism and commitment deserve our recognition and support.”

As a working mother of three, I sympathize with parents looking for a break on childcare costs.

But as so many directors told me, “While the program is free for families, it is not free to operate.”

As a result, I cannot bear to see our “free” childcare come at the expense of other women, the majority of whom are low-income and/or people of color.

“If we want a system that truly serves children and families, we must start by valuing the educators who make that system possible,” Foskett said. “That means committing to pay parity, attaching COLA to contracts, stabilizing funding, and strengthening support for CBOs before asking them to grow. Our educators – and our children – cannot afford anything less.”

Alina Adams is the author of “Getting into NYC Kindergarten” and “Getting into NYC High School,” and a school admissions consultant. She writes about education – and a whole lot more – at Alina’s Susbtack Newsletter.