Sitka Assembly devotes full work session to child care shortage data

The Sitka Assembly held a dedicated child care work session June 16, with the entire meeting built around a single subject: child care. The Southeast Childhood Collective presented three documents under agenda item 26-108, including the 2026 Sitka Child Care Report, a Sitka Child Care System Executive Brief, and a Sitka Early Childhood Center survey.

The City and Borough of Sitka posted a summary of the session on Facebook the following day, saying the Assembly "discussed the study's findings, including an estimated shortage of child care spaces and the need to better understand how the shortage impacts families and the local economy."

Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz presided over the work session. Municipal Administrator John Leach was also present.

Who Feels the Shortage Most

The shortage's specific impacts on Sitka families and the local economy were among the questions the Assembly identified as needing further study, according to the city's Facebook post. The problem is not unique to Sitka. A 2025 national survey cited by the First Five Years Fund found that "the cost of operating a child care program rose drastically in 2025, further constraining providers who were already facing challenges related to workforce shortages, inflation, and uncertainty about long-term public funding." The National Association for Family Child Care has argued that local fixes alone cannot resolve what it calls a systemic national failure requiring broader structural investment.

What Comes Next

The June 16 work session was structured to give Assembly members a data foundation before any funding or policy decision. The agenda for the Assembly's subsequent regular meeting June 23 did not include a child care funding vote, focusing instead on zoning amendments, a supplemental appropriation for Secure Rural Schools, and an executive session to screen Municipal Administrator applicants.