Grosso proposes greater local control and transparency in school budgeting

For Immediate Release: 
April 2, 2019
 
Contact:
Matthew Nocella, (202) 724-8105

Grosso proposes greater local control and transparency in school budgeting

Washington, D.C. – Today Councilmember David Grosso, chairperson of the Committee on Education, introduced legislation to improve how education investments in D.C. Public Schools serve students and provide the public with greater information on how taxpayer dollars are expended in both traditional public and public charter schools in the District of Columbia.

“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. The School Based Budgeting and Transparency Act of 2019 seeks to provide the public and policymakers a more transparent way to digest and engage with how the District of Columbia funds schools.”

The legislation requires DCPS to use a school-based budgeting model, as opposed to the comprehensive staffing model, to fund schools and submit that to the D.C. Council.

“Communities and individual school leaders know how best to meet the needs of their students,” Grosso said. “This bill would allow principals to have more autonomy of their local dollars and the ability to build their budgets based on their students’ needs, rather than the adults that Central Office dictates schools must hire.”

The bill also requires greater transparency from D.C. public charter schools by subjecting them to the requirements of the D.C. Open Meetings Act and requiring the Public Charter School Board to publish both charter school budgets and school expenditures–including a delineation of how at-risk funds are being spent at each school. Currently, only school budgets are published.

Finally, the bill requires that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education publish school budget expenditure information in a way that ensures the public can compare expenditures by local education agencies and schools in a clear manner.

“These provisions give the public clear information and finally allows us to see across all schools how tax dollars are being spent,” Grosso said. “By no means is this the panacea to solve all of the problems around school budgets that the Council and the public have identified. I believe this starts the conversation,” Grosso said.

Chairman Phil Mendelson, along with every member of the Council, joined Grosso as co-introducers of the legislation.

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School Based Budgeting and Transparency Act of 2019

School Based Budgeting and Transparency Act of 2019

Introduced: April 2, 2019

Co-introducers: Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmembers Anita Bonds, Robert White, Elissa Silverman, Brianne Nadeau, Jack Evans, Mary Cheh, Brandon Todd, Kenyan McDuffie, Charles Allen, Vincent Gray, and Trayon White

BILL TEXT | PRESS RELEASE

Summary: To amend The Uniform Per Student Funding Formula for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools Amendment Act of 1998 to require that the District of Columbia Public Schools submission be based on the cost associated at each school based on projected enrollment and include detailed information for each school’s funding, a separate line-item for at-risk funding for each school, and a narrative description of programs and services funded by at-risk funds; that the DCPS submission delineate cost of the central office attributed listed categories of students in each grade level; that the Public Charter School Board shall publish the detailed budget and end of year expenditures of each public charter school; to amend the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to require the Boards of Trustees of public charter schools to comply with Title IV of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedures Act; and to require the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to create an electronic reporting system for the public to ensure the greatest degree of clarity and comparability by laypersons of expenditures among all public schools in the District of Columbia.

Councilmember Grosso's Introduction Statement:

Next, along with Chairman Mendelson, Councilmembers Allen, Bonds, Cheh, Evans, Gray, McDuffie, Nadeau, Silverman, Todd, R. White, T. White, I am introducing the School Based Budgeting and Transparency Act of 2019.

Over the past several years, there has been significant confusion around funding for DCPS schools. At the same time, there is less information about funding for public charter schools. The lack of information about public schools in both sectors has raised many questions around school funding cuts and transparency.

The Council and the public have had a number of conversations about the Universal Per Student Funding Formula, At-Risk Funding, and if fund allocations meant to supplement are actually supplanting.

I have long believed that we cannot have a full and meaningful conversation on this topic until we all have similar baseline information. Unfortunately, because of the disjointedness of our education system, and specifically our funding systems, we continue to have these conversations in silos.

Last year, the Committee on Education attempted to start this conversation when it approved a Budget Support Act subtitle to require the Mayor to be more transparent about how the executive formulates DCPS and schools’ budgets. Unfortunately, that language was not included in the final BSA.

This Council Period, we are attempting to start that conversation again because it is clear that the public is clamoring for a more transparent way to digest and engage with how the District of Columbia funds schools.

The School Based Budgeting and Transparency Act of 2019 attempts to bring about transparency in the following ways:

• First, it requires DCPS use a school-based budgeting model to fund schools, as opposed to the comprehensive staffing model, and submit that to DC Council. This would allow principals to have more autonomy of their local dollars and the ability to build their budgets based on their students’ needs, rather than the adults that Central Office dictates schools must hire. It would also require DCPS to delineate the cost of central office in its budget submission.

• Next, Public Charter Schools must be more transparent. It would subject charter schools to the DC Open Meetings Act. Additionally, it requires PCSB to publish both charter school budgets and school expenditures – currently, only school budgets are published. Also, the legislation makes clear that charters must delineate how at-risk funds are being spent at each school.

• Finally, the bill requires that OSSE publish school budget expenditure information in a way that ensures the public can compare expenditures by LEA and by school in a clear manner. This gives parents and policymakers clear information and finally allows us to see across all schools how tax dollars are being spent.

By no means do I believe this is the panacea to solve all the problems around school budgets that the Council and the public have identified. I do however believe this is a place to start the conversation and I look forward to having that discussion with all stakeholders.

Contract Interference Mitigation Resolution of 2017

Contract Interference Mitigation Resolution of 2017

Introduced: July 11, 2017

Co-introducers: Councilmembers Anita Bonds, Mary Cheh, and Kenyan McDuffie

Summary: To Declare the sense of the Council that the District of Columbia is committed to government transparency and consistency with regard to contracting and procurement; and to call upon the Mayor to more accurately document interactions with lobbyists, especially regarding contracts, to update and standardize the solicitation and bid review process across government agencies, and to take steps to combat the perception of favoritism in the contracting process to mitigate the potential for interference in the contracting process.

Councilmember Grosso's Introduction Statement:

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

Today I am introducing the Contract Interference Mitigation Resolution of 2017 along with Councilmembers Cheh, Bonds, and McDuffie.

The Committee on Transportation conducted an investigation into the resignation of Admiral Weaver from the Department of General Services, the firing of two DGS employees by a member of the Mayor’s executive team, and the handling of two contracts awarded by DGS.

The Committee combed through thousands of pages of documents, including e-mails, correspondence, meeting records, personnel files, and documents related to those contracts, and heard over twenty hours of testimony in December of 2016. 

On June 14, 2017, Councilmember Mary Cheh released findings and recommendations, which included steps that the executive can take, independently of Council action.

While I know there is pending legislation that addresses some of the short-comings raised through Councilmember Cheh’s findings, I thought it would be appropriate for the Council to at least encourage the Executive to take these necessary steps as soon as possible.

That is why we are introducing this resolution to declare the sense of the Council that the District of Columbia is committed to government transparency and consistency with regard to contracting and procurement; and to call upon the Mayor to more accurately document interactions with lobbyists, especially regarding contracts, to update and standardize the solicitation and bid review process across government agencies, and to take steps to combat the perception of favoritism in the contracting process to mitigate the potential for interference in the contracting process.

Sense of the Council Contract Interference Mitigation Introduced Version by Team_Grosso on Scribd

Grosso introduces bill to promote greater transparency in D.C. government

For Immediate Release: 
March 17, 2017
 
Contact:
Matthew Nocella, (202) 724-8105

Grosso introduces bill to promote greater transparency in D.C. government

Washington, D.C. – Councilmember David Grosso introduced legislation on Tuesday to foster more open and responsive government by strengthening existing open government laws.

“An open and transparent government is more likely to be an effective and ethical government—a good government,” said Grosso. “When we open up the government for our residents to see, it increases confidence in our work, and lets the public highlight areas for improvement.”

The Strengthening Government Transparency Amendment Act of 2017 strengthens D.C.’s Freedom of Information Act, Open Meetings Act, and Open Government Office Act and codifies key components of past mayoral orders on open data.

The bill establishes in D.C. law the principle that if government information is deemed appropriate to share with one person under a Freedom of Information Act request, it should be shared with everyone and ought to be proactively published. It also shifts the Freedom of Information Act appeals process from the mayor’s office to the independent Office of Open Government, bringing more objectivity and expertise to the appeals process.

Additionally, the Open Meetings Act is reinforced by requiring that a public meeting is one where the public is permitted to be present, creating a complaint process for alleged violations, and a private right of action for residents when a meeting that should be open is improperly closed.

“Having an open and accountable government is something we should constantly strive for in D.C.,” Grosso said.

Councilmember Mary Cheh co-introduced the bill with Grosso.

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Strengthening Government Transparency Amendment Act of 2017

Strengthening Government Transparency Amendment Act of 2017

Introduced: March 15, 2017

Co-introducers: Councilmember Mary Cheh

Summary: To amend the Freedom of Information Act to clarify procedures for public bodies to make information available to the public, to extend the time a public body has to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request, to clarify certain exemptions from Freedom of Information Act requirements, to establish the Open Government Office as the body to resolve appeals regarding Freedom of Information Act requests, to clarify reporting requirements on public body Freedom of Information Act activities, to clarify the public bodies covered by the Freedom of Information Act; to amend the Open Meetings Act to include Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and other bodies, to require that a public body’s meeting is considered open only if members of the public are permitted to attend, to create a complaint process for instances of alleged non-compliance, to create a private right of action for an individual alleging non-compliance; to amend the Open Government Office Act to change the name to the Office of Open Government, to clarify the Office’s roles and responsibilities, to require boards, commission, and task forces to make available certain information in a central location online, and to create uniform procedures for processing and tracking requests for public records.

Strengthening Government Transparency Amdt Act of 2017 by Team_Grosso on Scribd

Grosso Introduces Legislation to Ensure Public Access to Government Buildings

For Immediate Release
March 15, 2016
Contact: Keenan Austin
(202) 724-8105

Grosso Introduces Legislation to Ensure Public Access to Government Buildings

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) introduced the "Ensuring Public Access to Government Buildings Amendment Act of 2016." The bill directs the Department of General Services ("DGS") to establish regulations that outline how policies are made for access to government buildings. Currently, for most buildings, DGS follows federal guidelines set by the Interagency Security Committee for entry protocols. Grosso's legislation mandates that the agency look at best practices in other local and state jurisdictions to ensure that residents who must enter government buildings to conduct routine business have the fullest access possible.

"Over the years, we have seen increases in policies that limit access to government buildings in the name of security, without any actual evidence for such policies," said Grosso. "This security theater greatly frustrates me, and it has a disproportionate effect on some of our most vulnerable residents including those who are homeless or undocumented immigrants. If a person who is homeless and has lost all their belongings has to get a replacement birth certificate from the D.C. Department of Health, they have to show identification to get into the building even when the reason for their visit to the building is to get identification documents."

The legislation also clarifies the policy for entrance to the John A. Wilson Building, the seat of the D.C. Council and the Mayor, where residents currently must show a photo I.D. or sign a log book to enter. The bill prohibits those practices that limit access to the building, while allowing for other security measures such as metal detectors.

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Strengthening Transparency and Open Access to Government Amendment Act of 2016

Councilmember Grosso and Councilmember Cheh introduced this bill on January 19, 2016.

Strengthening Transparency and Open Access to Govt Amdt Act

Key Pre-Home Rule Documents Unseen for Decades Now to Be Published

Council of the District of Columbia, July 29, 2015

Phil Mendelson, Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, today announced an historic agreement with the National Archives to scan and publish all the legislation of the presidentially-appointed District Council that preceded the current, Home Rule iteration of the same body. The project, initiated by Councilmember David Grosso, will return these documents to broad public view for the first time ever. They will be available on both the National Archives’, and the Council’s, websites.

“I am thrilled that our agreement with the National Archives will make these historic documents widely available.  This will fill in six years of DC’s legislative history.  The appointed Council represented the first time in almost 100 years that’s DC residents had a real say in their local government.  The appointed Council set many precedents for the Home Rule period, and these records are their legacy to us.”

For much of the District’s history, it was governed by three-member presidentially-appointed board whose members were knows as Commissioners.  As the civil rights era dawned,  and consistent with its spirit, local calls for expanded Home Rule grew louder and louder. In an effort to partially respond to such demands, President Lyndon Baines Johnson championed a hybrid structure featuring an appointed mayor and council. From November of 1967 to January of 1975, this structure was in place. Walter Washington was the appointed mayor throughout, and John Hechinger and Gilbert Hahn were notable Council Chairs.

The appointed Council did not have the same extent of authority that its elected successor gained under Home Rule. However, with the limited powers it was granted, the appointed Council did pass several hundred measures that are of both legal and historical importance. Although the appointed Council’s days came to an end when the Home Rule era dawned, the legislation enacted by this body (unless superseded by subsequent measures) remains in effect as DC law.

Among the measures enacted by the appointed Council:

• Transportation: Three Sisters Bridge and North Central Freeway decisions. Metrobus and Metrorail funding. DC’s Metro Stations names and designs. Bicycle regulations and accessible sidewalks.
• Human Services: Closed Junior Village, the District’s shameful orphanage. Ended demeaning welfare rules
• Police Department: Landmark use of deadly force rules. Integration of force and patrol practices
• Consumer Protection: Banned deceptive practices
• Environmental Polices: Enacted strong air and water pollution controls
• Gun Control: Mandated gun registration
• Insurance: Ratemaking and Policy Holder Protection

When the first post-Home Rule elected Council took office, there were firm plans to publish the appointed Council’s legislation, but that did not occur. The records were sent to the Archives for safekeeping. Over time, their existence there was nearly forgotten, until Councilmember Grosso initiated the research effort that led to their recent re-emergence.

While the documents in question have always been held by the Archives, and consistently available to the public during this time, it is fair to say that they languished in obscurity during this time.  The current project will make them easily available to the public at large.

The planned project, to be conducted by the Council Secretary’s staff, will involve the digital scanning of all of the available records at the Archives. When completed, the full body of research will be published on line as part of the District’s Legislative Statutes-at-Large. This will put these important documents back in the public view and will restore to the public a significant and important piece of DC law and history.

We are grateful to Councilmember Grosso and his staff for finding these important records and pursuing this project. We are equally indebted to the National Archives for their understanding, cooperation and diligence in bringing this agreement to fruition.

D.C. Council Members Grosso & Wells Join the Free Law Founders

D.C. Council Members Grosso & Wells

Join the Free Law Founders

Leading Open Government Elected Officials in Our Nation’s Capital Join Nationwide Coalition Reinventing U.S. Lawmaking for the Internet Age

September 11, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Free Law Founders (FLF) today announced that two new municipal open government leaders have joined the coalition: D.C. Council Members David Grosso and Tommy Wells.  Grosso and Wells are at the vanguard of modern, accessible District government, from collaborating with their constituents online to build smarter city laws with MadisonDC, to breaking down the barriers between residents and their laws with DCdecoded.  They join municipal elected officials NYC Council Member Ben Kallos, San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell and Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza in the FLF, and will assist its work to improve how democracy works for citizens living in our increasingly Internet-based society.

“Promoting an open and transparent government is among my top priorities as a lawmaker,” said D.C. Councilmember David Grosso. “I am pleased to join the Free Law Founders and support this national movement to make the legislative process accessible and accountable to all. Along with ethics and electoral reforms that I am pursuing, I believe open government efforts are critical to enriching our democracy and engaging residents within the community.”

"I am thrilled to join this nationwide coalition of local leaders working to make government information and data more accessible to the public,” said D.C. Council Member Tommy Wells.  “Municipal governments are historically inefficient and paper-based; they exclude citizens from playing any meaningful role. Through innovative tools, like MadisonDC and DCdecoded, we can now educate District residents, collect feedback and engage citizens in the legislative process from the ideation stage through successful passage. As a Free Law Founder, I'm excited to connect with government leaders across the country and to share ideas. We can learn from one another's experiences rather than reinvent the wheel."

"Just months after starting, we are pleased to welcome two Founders, DC Council Members David Grosso and Tommy Wells, who are committed to being free law leaders in their legislature,” said Free Law Founder Co-Chair, New York City Council Member Ben Kallos.  “Part of our mission has been to bring the free and open source model to government, so that innovation from one Founder can be replicated in other cities. I look forward to working with Council Members Grosso and Wells to expand to cities nationwide."

D.C. Council Member David Grosso

A native Washingtonian, Grosso was elected to the Council of the District of Columbia as an at-large councilmember on November 6, 2012 to represent residents in all eight wards. David brings a wealth of experience having worked with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton as her chief Counsel and former D.C. Councilmember Sharon Ambrose, in addition to his experience in the private sector. David is committed to continuing school reform efforts, improving health outcomes throughout the city, addressing inequities within the criminal justice system, and enhancing job opportunities by supporting a robust successful workforce development and public higher education system. David has also pushed for good governance, including sweeping ethics reform, transparency and open government, and strengthening civic engagement. He helped pilot a collaborative legislation platform, the Madison Project, in D.C. and is very supportive of the Council’s efforts to engage residents in the legislative process, such as the new Decoded D.C. website and the new Legislative Information Management System.

D.C. Council Member Tommy Wells

In just six years since joining the D.C. Council in January 2006, Tommy Wells has won support throughout the District for his vision of a livable and walkable city for all. He is a passionate advocate for innovative solutions, and D.C.’s leading voice for progressive change.

Tommy started his Washington career in 1983 as a social worker in the D.C. foster care system.  In 1991, he took the helm of the D.C. Consortium for Child Welfare, where he was a force for creating neighborhood based-family service collaboratives that coordinate the delivery of city and nonprofit resources. During his 15 years with the Consortium, Tommy also served as an ANC Commissioner from 1994 to 2000 and a member of the D.C. Board of Education, representing Wards 5 and 6, from 2000 to 2006.

Since joining the DC Council in January 2007, Tommy has been a tireless advocate for smart growth and social justice. He spearheaded efforts to ensure that transit prioritized connecting neighborhoods to give DC residents access to jobs, instead of just moving commuters in and out of the city. He led the way in establishing the Housing First program, a proven way to get homeless people back on track by providing a stable place to live.

Currently, Tommy chairs the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. As Chair, he has championed landmark legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession and “ban the box” in private sector hiring, giving returning citizens equal opportunities for success.

Tommy is the former chair of the board for Jan's Tutoring House and the previous chair of the Local Government Advisory Committee for the Chesapeake Bay. He graduated from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in 1991 and earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Minnesota in 1983. Since 1988 he has been married to Barbara Wells, a writer and arts enthusiast who is a tutor for Jan's Tutoring House and a judge for the Helen Hayes Awards.

Contacts

-       Julia Robey Christian, D.C. Council Member Tommy Wells, 202-724-8063, JChristian@DCcouncil.us

-       Dionne Calhoun, D.C. Council Member David Grosso,

         202-724-8105, dcalhoun@DCcouncil.us

-       Seamus Kraft, Executive Director, The OpenGov Foundation, 760-659-0631, seamus@opengovfoundation.org

-       Sarah Anders, NYC Council Member Ben Kallos,

         617-281-0447, sanders@benkallos.com

About the Free Law Founders

Citizens, technologists and public officials working together to transform state & local lawmaking for the 21st Century

The Free Law Founders is a nation-wide, collaborative effort open to all people who want to improve how laws and legislation are produced and presented to citizens of American states and cities. Our goal is to modernize how democracy works in the United States from the ground up. To get there, we’re creating open source tools and open data formats government workers need to get their jobs done efficiently, effectively and accountably. 

Click here to join the Free Law Founders!

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Opengov Foundation & Washington, D.C. Office of Open Government Launch DCDecoded.org

Our Nation’s Capital Becomes America’s 5th ‘Open Law’ City with New Online Platform that Makes the District’s Laws Accessible and User-Friendly for All

WASHINGTON, DC (March 19, 2013) – The non-partisan, non-profit OpenGov Foundation and the Washington, D.C. Board of Ethics and Accountability’s Office of Open Government today announced the launch of DCdecoded.org, a free software platform that empowers all District residents to discover, access, and use local laws when they want, and how they want.  Washington, D.C. becomes the 5th “open law” city in the United States, joining the nationwide America Decoded network of user-friendly, online and restriction-free municipal and state legal codes.

Click Here to Access DCdecoded.org

“DCdecoded.org is a necessary resource for District residents” said Traci L. Hughes, director of the D.C. Office of Open Government.  “The value of a transparent government is limited unless the public has the ability to access, and easily navigate its laws.  Greater access will inevitably lead to more people becoming engaged with our lawmakers and the legislative process – and that is open government at its best.”

DCdecoded.org lifts and ‘liberates’ the District’s Municipal Code from unalterable, often hard to find online files —such as PDFs—by inserting them into user-friendly, organized and modern website formats.  This straightforward switch delivers significant results:  more clarity, context, and public understanding of the laws’ impact on D.C. citizens’ daily lives. For the first-time, DCdecoded.org allows unrestricted reuse of municipal laws and legal data by everyday residents so that they can use, share, and interact with it as they see fit. Simply, DCdecoded.org gives citizens the information they need, on their terms.    

“I am thrilled to finally have the District’s Municipal Code in a user-friendly format,” said D.C. Councilmember David Grosso.  “Residents will now be in a better position to engage with me and my colleagues on the D.C. Council because they will be able to understand how the laws we pass impact their lives on a daily basis. I am very impressed with the hard work of both the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability’s Office of Open Government and the OpenGov Foundation, who together made this possible here in our nation’s capital.”

As the website evolves to meet the growing needs of citizens, stakeholders, and government employees, D.C. residents will soon have access to municipal regulations at their fingertips in real-time.   Much like Google, DCdecoded.org offers the ability to search city existing and proposed laws by section, topic, and tags. 

DCdecoded.org and America Decoded network are powered by the The State Decoded, an open-source software platform and API used to display states’ law codes. The free platform was originally developed by Waldo Jaquith in 2010, thanks to a generous grant from the Knight Foundation.  The America Decoded network has since grown to include the legal codes of Maryland, Virginia, and Florida, as well as the municipal laws of Baltimore (MD), San Francisco (CA), Philadelphia (PA), Chicago (IL) with more states and cities in the process of joining.  Committed to using taxpayer dollars effectively and efficiently, the OpenGov Foundation and State Decoded teams have partnered to  ‘liberate’ the law online in every state, city and town in America…at absolutely no cost to taxpayers.

D.C. Office of Open Government, http://www.bega-dc.gov/office-open-government

The Open Government Office, an independent office within the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, enforces the Open Meetings Act, monitors the District's Freedom of Information Act compliance and aids agencies with implementing open government practices.

CONTACT
Traci Hughes, Director
D.C. Office of Open Government
Email: traci.hughes@dc.gov
Phone: (202) 481-3411

The OpenGov Foundation, http://opengovfoundation.org/

The OpenGov Foundation is dedicated to developing and deploying technologies that support every citizen's ability to participate in government, and hold it accountable. The State Decoded is a project launched by Waldo Jaquith and built upon by the OpenGov Foundation, both with funding by a grant from the Knight Foundation. 

CONTACT

Seamus Kraft, Executive Director

OpenGov Foundation

seamus@opengovfoundation.org

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