Grosso sends letter to Mayor Bowser outlining budget priorities for FY2019

Today, Councilmember David Grosso, chairperson of the Committee on Education, sent a letter to Mayor Bowser outlining his budget priorities for the Mayor to consider for inclusion in her FY2019 budget proposal.

Ensuring that our students are in the best position to succeed remains Grosso's number one priority as the Chairperson of the Committee on Education.  Fully supporting our students, teachers, and school communities means providing the necessary resources.  For FY2019, Grosso asked the Mayor to:

1.       Meet the non-academic needs of our students through increased investment in the Department of Behavioral Health’s School-Based Mental Health program.

2.      Invest in the successful early literacy intervention program that gets students at or above reading level by third grade.

3.       Give our teachers the tools to educate all our students by funding school-based special education teacher training.

4.      Support the expansion of vital out-of-school time programs with increased funding for the Office of Out of School Time and Youth Outcomes.

5.      Continue equitable investment in community based organizations who are providing care to at-risk pre-kindergarten children.

6.      Aid child care providers by raising the subsidy reimbursement rates to more closely align with the cost of care.

Additionally, Grosso asked the Mayor to support funding for many of his policy priorities that have become law in the past few years:

1.       Provide financial stability for workers caring for themselves or their family by investing fully in the implementation of the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016.

2.      Assist residents managing their educational financing by funding a separate student loan ombudsman at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.

3.       Support the newly established D.C. State Athletics Commission with funding for two new full-time position.

4.      Provide equitable access to vital identity documents by funding fee exemptions for low-income residents.

5.      Remove the influence of big dollar donors and promote equitable participation in our local elections by fully funding the Fair Elections Amendment Act of 2017

You can read the full letter to Mayor Bowser below.

Letter to Mayor Boswer on Grosso FY2019 Budget Priorities by Team_Grosso on Scribd

New structure for D.C. school athletics moves forward

For Immediate Release: 
November 15, 2016
 
Contact:
Matthew Nocella, (202) 724-8105
mnocella@dccouncil.us

New structure for D.C. school athletics moves forward

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Council of the District of Columbia preliminarily approved Councilmember David Grosso’s proposal to create a governing state association for interscholastic athletics that address issues plaguing the current structure.  The following is his statement on the proposal:

“Interscholastic athletics in the District of Columbia are desperately in need of reform.  During my tenure as chairperson of the Committee on Education it has become clear that problems persist that affect operations, governance, and enforcement. Solving these woes is necessary to restore confidence and accountability in school sports.

“The major issue facing our current system is a lack of structure for consistently enforcing rules and regulations that is easily understood by the public.  The roots of this problem stem from imprecise regulations further complicated by a piecemeal approach to governance.

 “The bill establishes the DCSAA as a quasi-independent agency that will act as the governing body.  OSSE will remain the regulatory authority for athletics.

“It creates a 15-person Commission, including mayor-appointed parents and members from the various types of schools, as well as non-voting ex-officio members from related agencies.  The Commission will have ultimate control over DCSAA and its staff and the authority to set and enforce membership standards that are consistent with D.C. laws and OSSE regulations.

“Additionally, the Commission will establish Athletics Appeals Panels, consisting of three voting members from the commission, who will hear appeals from member leagues or schools.

“For example, if a DCPS student has an eligibility dispute at their school the DCIAA will hear the matter and issue a ruling.  If the student wants to appeal the decision, they can bring it to an Athletic Appeals Panel who will review DCIAA’s decision on its merits without doing any further fact-finding.  The Athletics Appeals Panel will then issue a final decision that will be enforced by the Commission. 

 “A lot of time and effort went into thoughtfully crafting this bill.  I would like to thank those who engaged with me and my staff to give us insight into their experiences with interscholastic athletics, especially our agency partners at OSSE, DCPS, the PCSB, and other charter LEAs for participating in working groups about the current regulations. I look forward to final passage at the next legislative meeting of the Council.”

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