Policy
Expanding the Commission’s Talent Agenda to include San Antonio Families
Policy Recommendation
As the City of San Antonio continues to grow, it is crucial that we prioritize the development of our youngest and increasingly vulnerable residents so that the talent needs of tomorrow will be fully met. To ensure San Antonio has the future leaders and workforce it needs, we recommend dedicating 20% of the growth in COSA’s annual revenue (compared to the baseline year) to additional grantmaking and initiatives focused on young San Antonians ages 0-24. Had this policy been in place for the city’s current fiscal year, it would have generated roughly $65 million.
Meeting the Persistent Need
In 2021, following the completion of a comprehensive fiscal map, UP Partnership organized a Strategic Funding Task Force composed of representatives from over 60 organizations, including youth leaders, who serve young people and families from all city council districts. Their diligent efforts revealed major gaps in necessary support for young people across the cradle to career spectrum.
In every council district in San Antonio there are young people with persistent and overwhelming needs, which is why according to the most recent Status of Poverty report, the under 18 age range accounts for more than half of our residents living in poverty. Available data makes clear that young San Antonians across our community struggle with not just academics, but also linked challenges like chronic absenteeism, drug poisoning, and mental health challenges needing medical support. This is why we can no longer let children and youth be under-resourced. With this dedicated stream of revenue, City Council would be able to reflexively direct more investments to programs that meet their communities’ needs as they emerge and shift over time.
These new investments can stand on the shoulders of the city’s current investments that support impactful programs. For example, the NxT Level program started by the Department of Human Services is actively changing the lives and trajectories of young people who have become disconnected from school or work, AlamoPROMISE is dramatically expanding pathways to a postsecondary credential, and dozens of out-of-school time providers are helping to improve student promotion to the next grade. In a recent study of 14,978 students who took part in afterschool programming in our community, 94% were promoted to the next grade level, compared to 85% of all ISD students in school districts that shared their data. Efforts like these demonstrate the availability of proven programs that are ready to benefit more young people – efforts that can be complemented or scaled to reach more children and youth.
Justification for Set-Aside
Though young San Antonians will comprise the future of our city’s leadership, workforce, and tax base, most of them cannot vote and thus are consistently overlooked in decisions about where to spend revenue growth. We know that young San Antonians, ages 0-24, account for 35% of our city (515,000 of 1,472,000 residents) but funding directed toward children and young people represented only 6% of the City’s General Fund budget in both 2019 and 2024. With the recommended set-aside, this percentage would increase annually in a responsible way, with the support of an ongoing baseline budget comparison to ensure steady growth.
Implications for Talent
This ongoing investment mechanism will help guarantee that in the coming decades we have a steady stream of capable public servants, business leaders, firefighters, teachers, community builders, affordable housing developers, and a vast array of other key roles. This charter change would also help ensure that today’s workforce has the support that their families need and deserve.
Distinction from Appropriation
Dedicating a percentage of COSA’s annual revenue growth to children and youth is distinct from an appropriation. The specific programs for investment would be annually determined by the City Council to support the needs of their communities. Rather than earmarking funds for specific programs, this set-aside approach allows for flexibility in how the allocated resources are utilized each year. The City Council will still have the responsibility to assign these protected dollars, equitably, based on their communities’ most pressing needs and priorities.
Why Act Now
The success of our young people is crucial to our dreams and ambitions as a city. This is a fact that most voters recognize. According to a 2021 national poll by FM3 Research, voters across the country overwhelmingly want city leaders to support the needs of children and youth.1 Meanwhile, if structural investments are not expanded in a manner that aims for more transformative child and youth outcomes then our city will continue to live with intergenerational poverty for decades to come.
In the words of UTSA professor Roger Enriquez, “[p]eople think it’s expensive to keep kids engaged—or finding ways to keep them engaged. You think that’s expensive? Wait until they get disengaged to get them back in the workforce, to get them back in school.” By advancing this policy recommendation, the Charter Review Commission can and should expand its agenda to more directly benefit San Antonio families, focusing on not just talent attraction and retention but also talent development.
Public Attitudes towards funding Youth Programs
Young San Antonians account for 35% of our city, but funding directed toward youth represented only 6% of the City’s General Fund budget in both 2019 and 2024. Throughout May 2024, we conducted a citywide survey to gauge the support to further fund youth programs in San Antonio via email, text and telephone interviews in both English and Spanish. The citywide survey was made in partnership with FM3 Research.
-
806 total interviews
- 100 youth surveyed
- 706 adult voters
- English & Spanish surveys
Voter Sample
Total Support: 49%
Total Oppose: 46%
Youth Sample
Total Support: 74%
Total Oppose: 20%
Voters are mixed on the initial proposal of overall package of potential charter amendments, while younger residents are supportive.
Voter Sample
Total Yes: 76%
Total No: 22%
Youth Sample
Total Yes: 75%
Total No: 12%
Both voters and young people are strongly supportive of the proposed funding set-aside.
Update the San Antonio City Charter to change ethics procedures including appointing an independent ethics auditor and increasing the independence of the City’s Ethics Review Board
Increase compensation for the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager, and tie increases to the pay of other high-level City employees
Increase the number of City Council Districts to account for the City’s growing population
Change term limits for the Mayor and City Council from four two-year terms to two four-year terms.
Proposed City Charter Amendments
By August 2024, based on recommendations from the City’s Charter Review Commission, these amendments may make could make some changes to improve outcomes in our community.
Both voters and young people are strongly supportive of the proposed funding set-aside. Majority support for youth funding set aside cuts across lines of age, parent status and frequency of voting.
Where do locals want more support?
Voters place the most importance on programs that help children facing homelessness, prevent abuse, and support youth in foster care.
Messages describing children as the future of San Antonio and noting that this measure will keep kids out of trouble resonated strongly.
Voter support still remained strong after an exchange of pro and con messaging around the efforts to increase youth funding in our community.
Government Waste
37% of those surveyed do not fully trust the City government to allocate the funds fairly or that it will be spent on politician’s projects and wasted on short-term solutions.
Unbalanced Budget Cuts
28% of responses said they worry that the set-aside funds could force cuts in existing services, such as first response, road repair, and homeless support services.
Parental Duties
25% of those surveyed believe this amendment could be another step towards taxpayers overstepping into familial responsibility, and said that parents should raise their children and keep them out of trouble.
Government Waste
Unbalanced Budget Cuts
Parental Duties
37% of those surveyed do not fully trust the City government to allocate the funds fairly or that it will be spent on politician’s projects and wasted on short-term solutions.
28% of responses said they worry that the set-aside funds could force cuts in existing services, such as first response, road repair, and homeless support services.
25% of those surveyed believe this amendment could be another step towards taxpayers overstepping into familial responsibility, and said that parents should raise their children and keep them out of trouble.
Conclusions
• Both voters and young San Antonio residents have a positive opinion of City government.
• Voters are initially divided on a proposed package of technical charter amendments, but widely supportive of the proposed amendment setting aside funding youth and children’s programs.
• San Antonio 17- and 18-year-olds are broadly supportive of both the comprehensive package of amendments and the set-aside.
• Voters place the greatest priority on using funds to support at-risk youth, such as those experiencing homelessness and in foster care, prevent child abuse, and support youth mental health.
• Support for the proposed set-aside is durable after an exchange of pro and con messaging.
• Positive messages resonate very strongly among the electorate; the most convincing describe the importance of investing in the future, keeping young people out of trouble, the critical development that happens before age five, supporting youth experiencing homelessness, and providing job training opportunities.
• Overall, the findings reflect widespread support and interest in the set-aside, both among the electorate in general and among 17-18 year olds.