Grant will boost pay for childcare workers in Mount Kisco

Dawn Mayerski,executive director of Mount Kisco Child Care, left, pictured with the center's director of development, Paula Backer.

By MARTIN WILBUR

The Mount Kisco Child Care Center and two other Westchester early childhood nonprofits will share $1 million in grant money to help attract and retain teachers as part of a push to boost educator pay.

Last week, The New York Community Trust, the state’s largest community foundation, announced that its award will supplement the wages for the 35 full- and part-time teachers at MKCCC by $2 an hour for the next three years, starting Sept 1. The 24-member teaching staff at the Lois Bronz Children’s Center in White Plains and the 17 teachers at the Elizabeth Mascia Child Care Center in Tarrytown will also see the same pay increase. That would amount to a $350 monthly hike for a full-time teacher, said Laura Rossi, the Community Trust’s vice president for Westchester.

“That’s really the benchmark that we’ve seen that can make a difference in recruitment and retention success for the center to recruit and retain,” Rossi said. “Three-fifty a month is a significant amount for somebody’s household income when they’re paid at the salary levels that we’ve seen.”

A portion of the money will be spent to track the effectiveness of the effort over the next three years and to conduct a guaranteed base income analysis. That analysis will help determine what amount it takes to allow people to continue working at childcare centers so staffing shortages can be alleviated, Rossi added. With Westchester being expensive to find housing, it is common for teachers to also have commuting expenses, adding to the cost burden, she said.

Rossi explained that bolstering pay for preschool child center and daycare center teachers is not only about equity and making the jobs more attractive but is an economic investment as well. The shortfall of childcare center teachers in Westchester County, which accelerated after the pandemic, is estimated to cost the county between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in lost economic activity and productivity annually, according to a Child Care Trust study that was launched by Child Care Aware of America.

“We are partnering with strong center directors who are key in the field around these issues,” Rossi said. “So, it is about quality, it is about affordability. There are many layers to the childcare crisis, and this was a piece where we felt – and we’ve been speaking to colleagues across the state where that issue needed to be looked at – where the advocacy work can be impactful based on other models around the country.”

Legislative efforts largely stalled 

Dawn Mayerski, executive director at MKCCC, said the grant and the accompanying analysis is a good first step in addressing childcare center pay. While meaningful legislative efforts at the state and federal level have largely stalled, she said this award helps put the spotlight on a critical issue.

“I think it’s definitely going to be a morale booster,” Mayerski said. “I think it’s going to make an absolute difference. We’re so excited to be one of the recipients.”

Mayerski and many of her colleagues were disappointed that the state did not address workforce compensation issues in the Fiscal Year 2027 New York State budget despite officials recognizing the need. She said that MKCCC has the space to expand beyond its 150-child limit, but wouldn’t be able to find the help.

“While there was always support for childcare, what they are doing is really expanding the need but not supporting the workforce,” Mayerski said. “So they’re not expanding the supply, they’re expanding the demand but not working toward making sure that there are enough teachers to teach all the students.”

Results from a survey conducted by the Empire State Campaign for Child Care released in February 2025 found that there were more than 2,200 unfilled childcare positions statewide and that more than 16,000 children were not receiving childcare, primarily due to staffing shortages.

Rossi said legislation in several states has tried to put childcare teacher salaries on par with public school teachers. New York has discussed it as well but that is a controversial topic, she said. 

In Iowa, businesses now pay into a fund that is supplemented by public money to help raise childcare center teacher pay.

“I don’t know if they’re on par with public school educators in Iowa, but they’ve been able to bring wages up and it’s been shown that the centers can recruit and retain, and now they’re using dollars for capital expenses,” Rossi said.

The county Board of Legislators’ Families Task Force will also be tracking data and making policy recommendations to ease the childcare burden.

“Safe and reliable childcare is a critical community asset, not only for families but also for the local economy,” said County Legislator Erika Pierce. “But providing and accessing childcare remains a struggle — for providers and families alike. Improving pay for early childhood educators can potentially bring a huge payoff: increased staffing, the creation of more childcare slots and potentially even leading to a decrease in costs for families.”