Michele Stewart: DC leaders need to ensure the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund is here to stay
When I first began teaching young children in the District of Columbia, I knew I had found my calling. Helping children learn, grow, and discover the world around them became my “why” — the reason I’ve stayed in this work for so many years. But loving my job didn’t always make it easy to live. For years, my paycheck barely covered rent or tuition. I constantly worried about bills and wondered whether I’d ever be able to go back to school or pay off my student loans.
Then came the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund, and it changed everything. For the first time in my teaching career, I felt truly seen and valued for my work. Financially, I could finally breathe. I returned to school to continue my education and began paying down my student debt. I was able to move into a safer, more stable home. The additional money gave me the security I needed to keep doing what I love most — teaching DC’s youngest children.
I’m not alone. This program, which helps bring early childhood educators’ minimum salaries in line with comparably credentialed public school teachers, has helped thousands of early childhood teachers across the District. It has allowed us to focus on our classrooms instead of constantly worrying about how to make ends meet. It has kept passionate, skilled educators in a profession that too often pushes them out simply because they can’t afford to stay.
Now, that progress is at risk. To make up a $9 million budget gap, the council passed emergency legislation last month that reduces the program’s minimum salaries for fiscal year 2026, and legislators will take a final vote on the permanent version on Tuesday. The cuts of around 5% to the minimum salaries established under the Pay Equity Fund threaten to undo so much of the good it has achieved in just a few years. For many of us, a cut like this could mean falling behind on rent, losing ground on student loans, or even having to leave the profession altogether.
These cuts won’t just hurt teachers — they’ll ripple through our communities. Many educators already travel long distances to work because housing in DC is unaffordable. Others are parents themselves, struggling to find and afford quality child care for their own children while caring for others. If salaries are reduced, it will become even harder for us to stay in this field — and that ultimately hurts the children and families we serve every day.
That’s why I’m calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC leaders to allocate the $9 million still needed to fully fund the Pay Equity Fund in the fiscal year 2026 budget. Fixing this problem isn’t just about paychecks. It’s about maintaining stability, respect, and the future of early childhood education in our city.
The Pay Equity Fund gave me hope. It reminded me that my work — and the work of so many other teachers — truly matters. This fund has been a lifeline for our community, and we cannot afford to lose it now.
Let’s continue to honor and invest in the people who build the foundation for every child’s future. Our children need us — and we need the Pay Equity Fund.
Michele Stewart is an early childhood educator and Under 3 DC fellow.
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