For Immediate Release:
June 24, 2020
Contact:
Matthew Nocella, mnocella@dccouncil.us, 202.286.1987
Grosso proposes budget that maintains D.C.’s growing investments in education
Washington, D.C. – Today, Councilmember David Grosso, chairperson of the Committee on Education, circulated the committee’s draft fiscal year 2021 budget report that maintains increased funding for the District of Columbia’s students, fosters positive and supportive learning environments, and provides the public with greater transparency in the use of public dollars in the education sector.
The proposed 3 percent increase in per student funding is maintained in Grosso’s report, marking the fourth straight budget cycle of growing education investments.
“The ongoing public health emergency has hit the District’s economy hard and our students harder,” said Grosso. “As D.C. begins to recover, we have an obligation to students, especially Black and Latinx students and those who are economically disadvantaged, to continue the trend of increasing investments in the academic growth and emotional well-being of our students.”
In the report, Grosso recommends ending the Metropolitan Police Department’s management of the security services contract for D.C. Public Schools in favor of DCPS managing it directly.
“In the wake of police killings of unarmed Black Americans, the District of Columbia, along with the rest of the nation, is re-examining the role of police in all aspects of our lives, including in our children’s schools. The safety of our students is a priority but our current staffing of schools indicates that we are more interested in policing our students than we are in ensuring their academic success or supporting their mental and behavioral health,” said Grosso. “After discussions with many school leaders and students, I believe our students’ safety can better be provided for by DCPS–whose primary mission is the academic success and social-emotional development of our young people–without MPD’s involvement.”
The Committee is also set to recommend enactment and full funding of his School Expenditure Transparency Amendment Act, which would provide the public a clearer understanding of how both traditional public and public charter schools expend public dollars, as well as require greater transparency from charter schools by making them subject to the Open Meetings Act.
“Over the past several years, there has been significant confusion around funding for both DCPS and charter schools,” Grosso said. “This has raised many questions from the public and elected officials about annual school funding cuts and increased calls for more transparency from both sectors. Enacting these provisions through the budget will provide the public and policymakers a more transparent way to digest and engage with how the District of Columbia funds schools.”
Other investment highlights from the Committee report include:
Supports the social, emotional, and positive behavioral health of our students: The committee is making additional investments in grants from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to support positive school climate and trauma-informed emotional services.
Ensures more students are reading at grade level by third grade: The committee invested an additional $900,000 at OSSE for the successful early literacy intervention grant programs, continuing Grosso’s steadfast support for the program.
$1.4 million in early childhood development subsidies.
Improving D.C. libraries: As D.C. Public Library prepares to celebrate the opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Central Library, the committee is investing $1 million for general improvements across the D.C. Public Library system as well as moving up the planning for the Chevy Chase Library modernization. The committee also preserved the funding that Grosso requested for the Parklands-Turner standalone branch library which was included in the mayor’s proposal.
The Committee on Education received virtual, written, and voicemail testimony from over 330 individuals despite the ongoing public health emergency and modified Council budget process.
“I want to thank everyone who provided testimony to the Committee on Education. The input you provided on school-based mental health, school safety, and more have been invaluable. Your involvement holds us accountable and drives the Committee to make equitable decisions for our students and schools.
“I also want to thank students, caregivers, educators, and administrators for their dedication to distance learning during the pandemic. These are unprecedented and uncertain times but I know that everyone is continuing to work together to set our students up for success.”
The Committee on Education will consider the budget report tomorrow, Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 2:30 pm via virtual meeting platform.
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