Weekly Column: Young Leaders Visit, Fighting for Fair Transportation Funding and Improving Access to Childcare

The following column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette and Mount Vernon Voice on February 3, 2011:

The legislative session is now moving at a furious pace. On Monday, I presented one bill at 7:00 a.m., a bill and a budget amendment at 8:30 a.m., another bill at 10:00 a.m., our caucus met at 11:30 a.m., and our floor session ran for two hours at noon. Our committees are all pressing to complete action on bills so that they can be heard before next “Crossover Day” next Tuesday when the House and Senate swap bills.
Also, I was honored by a visit from my Young Leaders this week. Delegate Amundson started the Young Leaders Program and we restarted it this year. I was visited by four students from West Potomac and two from Mount Vernon. The program introduces students to state policy and state government. The students met several policy makers, myself and Senator Puller, attended committee hearings, and watched a floor session. During one committee hearing, they were able to observe debate on repealing the state gay marriage ban, a constitutional limit on state debt, and restoration of felon voting rights. They are now beginning to work on a project as a result of their visit. I appreciate the support of Cox Communications who helped to cover the program’s cost.
My bills are also moving through the system. Although not adopted, several of my bills were referred for study. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) decides which transportation projects to fund in Virginia. It has ten commissioners representing each transportation district and four at-large members who represent the interests of transit, rail, airports, and ports. The transportation districts are based on the 1930’s congressional district lines, plus a Northern Virginia seat that was added in 1985. Presently, the three urban/suburban districts have 62% of the state’s population and 3 of 10 votes. The rural districts have 38% of the state’s population and 7 of 10 votes.
My legislation requires the commissioners to be appointed based upon congressional districts. It would more than triple Northern Virginia’s current representation plus help Hampton Roads and Richmond. It would give Northern Virginia the seat at the table that it deserves. The Governor’s Office and Transportation Subcommittee agreed this needs to be addressed so it was referred to the Governor McDonnell’s Government Reform Commission for further study.
Senator Puller’s U.S. 1 Transit Study resolution is moving through the Senate and the Secretary of Transportation continues to assure me that my budget amendment to fund it should be included in the final budget. I am hopeful we are finally seeing some progress.
During my campaign, I noted that there were fourteen preschools east of U.S. 1 and not a single preschool or childcare center on the west side of U.S. 1 (Woodlawn, Janna Lee, Hybla Valley & Groveton) in my district. After several meetings of my Preschool and Childcare Working Group, I introduced legislation this year to ask the Department of Social Services to study ways to maximize federal childcare matching funds and increase the availability of subsidized childcare in Virginia. There are 20,000 children on Virginia’s subsidized childcare waiting list and 2,000 in Fairfax County – many of which are in the U.S. 1 Corridor. Making high quality childcare and preschool more affordable and available to families in our community is critical to improving our school performance. My legislation was amended and then tabled this year with a commitment from the Department to further study the measure over the next year and revisit the issue in 2011.
About 100 constituents attended my Town Hall Meeting with Senator Toddy Puller on Saturday, January 29. We had a two-hour discussion on a wide variety of topics ranging from redistricting, retirement benefits, and education funding to the extension of the Yellow Line and transit expansion. It was great to be back home and get some feedback on how we are doing.
Also, nearly 700 households have responded to my constituent survey. Improving the economy, working on transportation and education were the top three issues. A majority of respondents did not favor further cuts to the state budget and said we should consider raising taxes. A majority of respondents also favored some form of modest tax increase for transportation. If you are interested, I will be posting more complete results on my blog, The Dixie Pig at scottsurovell.blogspot.com over the next two weeks. You can also continue to submit feedback online at www.scottsurovell.net/survey.
You can also comment on legislation, set up a meeting or request a Capitol tour at www.scottsurovell.net. Good government requires your involvement so please be in touch or come visit in Richmond so I can best represent you in the General Assembly. It is an honor to serve as your State Delegate.

Preschool/Childcare Working Group Update

Earlier this year, I assembled a working group to focus on expanding preschool access and quality childcare in the U.S. 1 corridor. We had our third meeting this past week.

As of today, there are approximately 3,800 Fairfax County children waiting for subsidized childcare. Childcare centers in the U.S. 1 corridor have recently closed because there are not enough families who can afford high quality childcare.

There are at least fourteen preschools on the west side of U.S. 1 in my district. There are zero on the west side. There are a handful of licensed at home childcare providers on the east side and dozens on the west. The provision of childcare in the 44th District is starkly different depending on where you live.

We also learned that the capital costs for starting a new childcare center are significant. Childcare centers have to be built to burn-proof standards with extraordinarily safe building standards - effectively the same standards as hospital. Given these costs, the limitations on labor costs, and families' limited ability to afford childcare, the costs of entry into the childcare market are extraordinarily high. Government subsidies are needed to expand preschool and childcare opportunities.

We are focusing on legislative solutions in the following areas:

• Lowering the local government match required to access state funds for subsidized childcare.
• Requiring a biennial rebenchmarking of childcare payment rates for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
• Providing real estate tax exemption for all non-profit childcare center.
• Creating a fund to provide low-interest loans for capital improvements to non-profit childcare facilities.
• Monitor proposed state rules to limit subsidized childcare to familes for five-year period and require enrollment in DCSE for unmarried recipient families.
• Expand availability of parenting mentoring programs.

If you have any feedback for our Working Group please post it up here or send me an email at DelSSurovell@house.virginia.gov.

Assessing Status: 1st Meeting of Preschool Working Group

Tonight, I met with several folks interested in improving access to preschool education in the U.S. 1 Corridor at the Mount Vernon Government Center. I discussed this initiative on my blog and during my campaign:

The Dixie Pig: Time to Invest in Preschool

Surovell for Delegate: Support Strong Schools

The Mount Vernon Community is divided into two communities in many ways. East of U.S. 1 along the Potomac River there are approximately 14 preschools. West of U.S. 1, there are virtually none. Schools that draw diverse student populations from west of U.S. 1 have significant challenges with testing scores bearing out challenges for students from families with lower incomes (Mt. Vernon Gazette, Test Scores: It's Complicated (May 27, 2010)).

One of the biggest problems is a shortage of money. There is more demand for Head Start and subsidized childcare than there are slots. The state budget is severely restricted. Local budgets are very tight due to the recession and limited revenue sources. Full funding could go a long way toward mitigating these problems.


Our group also identified the following problems with access and utilization of preschool, quality childcare and/or early childhood education in the corridor:

• Affordability for Low-Income Families
• Cultural Barriers
• Language Barriers
• Affordable Transportation Options
• Lack of Affordable Space for Operations
• Lack of Affordable Options or Subsidized Slots in Existing Programs
• Lack of Convenient Options (Both in terms of locations and hours of operation)
• Lack of Effective Parent Mentoring Programs
• Lack of Federal, State and Local Funding for Head Start, Early Childhood Education, and Quality Childcare Programs.

We also identified the following areas to focus on in moving forward:

• Identifying obstacles and strategies to achieve full federal Head Start funding
• Determining the long-term status of the old Mt. Vernon High School property and initiating discussions regarding use of the property for pre-K education
• Investigating the feasibility of tax credits for commercial property owners in areas underserved by low-rent facilities such as churches
• Investigating feasibility of government-supported transportation options for childcare
• Reviewing ways to stop proposed state rules to limit state support of subsidized childcare to five years per family.
• Investigating licensed daycare provider rules to ascertain feasibility of setting standards for quality of time children spend in childcare and not just safety metrics.
• Investigating feasibility of developing model curriculum and/or grant programs for parent mentoring.

If you have any ideas about any of these programs as we continue this discussion and look toward solutions, please feel free to post your comments here or email them to my aide, Chris Bea, at DelSSurovell@virginia.house.gov. Also, please contact us if you would like to attend our meetings and participate in the discussions.