Virginia

Legislation calls for free school meals for all Virginia students – Virginia Mercury

Published

6 months ago

January 22, 2024

Legislation calls for free school meals for all Virginia students – Virginia Mercury

A bill that would provide free meals for all public school students in Virginia passed the Senate Education and Health Committee Thursday.

“This is about making sure that every kid who goes to school gets fed — no questions asked,” said Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, the patron for Senate Bill 283, earlier this month.

The proposal would cost an estimated $346 million over the next two years.

Some Republicans including Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, balked at the cost.

“I just obviously do not want any child to go hungry and do not want any child who cannot afford a meal to go hungry, either breakfast or lunch, but I just think at this point, I’m not quite ready to say that the commonwealth is going to pay for breakfast and lunch for every child in the commonwealth when you got [wealthy] counties,” Peake said. “I just don’t see that we should take general fund dollars to pay for breakfast and lunch in some of the wealthiest counties in the commonwealth.”

Roem noted even Virginia’s wealthiest counties, such as Loudoun, have schools that qualify for federal school lunch programs and have significant school meal debt. Furthermore, she said, many families fall just outside the eligibility limit for free and reduced meals.

Catherine Ford, a lobbyist representing the School Nutrition Association of Virginia, contended the state should be putting funds toward universal meals.

“We believe that just like textbooks, just like school buses, just like desks, that meals should be provided to children at school,” Ford said.

Proposal

If passed, all public school divisions in Virginia would be required to make meals available for free to any student unless their parent had notified the school board to not do so.

The state would reimburse schools for each meal.

Currently, only schools that qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Provision can offer all students free meals. Schools qualify for the CEP if a certain percentage of their students are classified as low-income.

Previously the federal government set that threshold at 40%, but this September the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered it to 25%, a change it said would “give states and schools greater flexibility to offer meals to all enrolled students at no cost when financially viable.”

Roem’s measure would expand free meals to even those schools that don’t qualify for the CEP.

The legislation would also require school boards to adopt policies to maximize their use of federal funds for free breakfast and lunch and create a workgroup to study the potential impact of offering guaranteed school meals.

A step beyond earlier legislation

Roem said this year’s proposal is an extension of a 2020 bill she successfully carried that required divisions to apply to enroll any schools in CEP that qualified for it.

Generally, Roem said school breakfasts in Virginia cost $34 million per year, while lunches cost $138 million.

During a Jan. 11 hearing on her newest proposal, Roem said that because of the 2020 legislation, 44 schools in Prince William County, which lies in her district, have zero school meal debt compared to more than 50 schools that just enrolled in the CEP this year and had together collected $291,256 of school meal debt in the first semester of the prior year.

“Not every single student who attends a CEP school can’t afford their own breakfast and lunch,” Roem said. “A lot of them come from families that can, but most of the students … have enough insecurity at home financially that they need help, and collectively, we’ve decided it’s in our interest, it’s in the student’s interest and it’s the parent’s interest to make sure that we are taking care of everyone at the school.”

Adelle Settle, founder of nonprofit Settle the Debt, which raised roughly $250,000 last year to pay down the lunch debt for students in Prince William County, said she often hears from parents “who earn just over the threshold to receive free or reduced meals for their students, but they’re still struggling and they need help to pay for those school meals.”

Meal debt, Roem also said, is “money that could’ve gone into other areas such as a classroom or computer lab.”

“And frankly, if the federal government isn’t going to do its job, as far as I’m concerned, of fully funding universal free school meals for all, then we’ve got to step in and take care of our student constituents,” she said.

The bill now goes to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee for consideration.

Addressing food insecurity in higher education

Roem is also carrying Senate Bill 318, which would create a grant program to address food insecurity among students at public colleges or universities in Virginia.

The bill is also heading to Senate Finance and Appropriations.

“With college enrollment still lower than it was pre-pandemic, addressing food insecurity can help students afford tuition and housing so they can stay in school and graduate on time,” she said.

Under the program, public institutions could apply for grants to address food insecurity.

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Virginia

‘This is a really good day for commuters’: $40M in funding approved for Route 28 project in Va. – WTOP News

Published

4 hours ago

July 16, 2024

Press Room

‘This is a really good day for commuters’: $40M in funding approved for Route 28 project in Va. – WTOP News

Transportation planners have approved a second round of funding in long-range plans to improve Virginia Route 28 commute between Manassas Park and Fairfax County.

Transportation planners have approved a second round of funding in long-range plans to improve the commute on Virginia Route 28 between Manassas Park and Fairfax County.

Virginia state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Prince William County) said the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority OK’d $40 million to fund road improvements that include innovative intersection designs, a raised median and a 1.75 mile-long sidewalk between Manassas in the Yorkshire area of Prince William County.

“We now have all the money we need to fully fund the innovative intersection design plan that I’ve been working on for six and a half years now, to fix Route 28 between Manassas Park and Yorkshire,” said Roem.

Construction work is estimated to begin in late 2027.

“What people should expect between now and 2027 is all the preliminary work getting done. … Pretty much what’s going to happen over the next three years is all the design work, utility movement ideas and the minimal amount of eminent domain,” said Roem.

No houses will be removed, but some buildings, housing and businesses will be taken by eminent domain for the road improvement project, according to Roem, who said she is pleased that the project is based on ideas from area residents, commuters and workers.

“Bottom line — this is a really good day for commuters, for Route 28, knowing that help is on the way. It’s going to take a little bit (of time), but we’ve got $64.5 million coming to make our commutes on Route 28 in the Greater Manassas area safer, quicker and greener,” said Roem.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.

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Virginia

NoVa Hospital Ranks Among Best Regional Hospitals: US News Rankings

Published

12 hours ago

July 16, 2024

Press Room

NoVa Hospital Ranks Among Best Regional Hospitals: US News Rankings

VIRGINIA — With expertise across multiple specialty areas, two Virginia hospitals ranked high nationally in several specialty areas, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Hospitals ranking released Tuesday.

In all, 15 Virginia hospitals were included in the list of the country’s best health-care facilities.

For its 35th annual report, U.S. News evaluated more than 5,000 hospitals based on their performance across 30 medical and surgical services.

Inova Fairfax Hospital ranked 36th in obstetrics and gynocology; and VCU Medical Center ranked 42nd in cardiology, heart and vascular surgery; 33rd in orthopedics, and 19th in rehabilitation.

These Are The Top-Ranked Hospitals In Virginia: U.S. News Ranking:

Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church
VCU Medical Center, Richmond
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke
University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville
Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington
Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg
Winchester Medical Center, Winchester
Henrico Doctors’ Hospitals, Richmond
Sentara Leigh Hospital, Norfolk
Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals, Richmond
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax
Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, Virginia Beach
Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake
Centra Lynchburg General Hospital, Lynchburg

Inova Fairfax Hospital was also among the top 466 Best Regional Hospitals in the country, according to U.S. News.

For the first time this year, U.S. News also identified 98 hospitals across the country for their success in caring for patients from historically underserved communities. Here are the top five hospitals by specialty:

Cancer

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City
Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California

Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery

Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Ohio
NYU Langone Hospitals, New York City
Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City
New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, New York City

Neurology & Neurosurgery

NYU Langone Hospitals, New York City
Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, New York City
Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, MD)

Orthopedics

Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City
Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, New York City
New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, New York City
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles

To calculate the 2024-2025 Best Hospitals for the Honor Roll, specialty and region, U.S. News evaluated each hospital’s performance using a variety of measures. Data came from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, professional organizations, and medical specialists. The Procedures & Conditions ratings are based entirely on objective patient care measures.

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Virginia

Three Central Virginia baseball players taken in first eight rounds of the 2024 MLB Draft

Published

19 hours ago

July 16, 2024

Press Room

Three Central Virginia baseball players taken in first eight rounds of the 2024 MLB Draft

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Three Central Virginia natives heard their names called in the first eight rounds of the 2024 MLB Draft. Griff O’Ferrall went in the first round 32nd overall to the Baltimore Orioles, Konnor Eaton went in the sixth Round 168th overall to the Colorado Rockies and Will Riley went in the eighth round 243rd overall to the Seattle Mariners.

Griff O’Ferrall who played high school baseball at St. Christopher’s School was drafted out of UVA where he was a Gold Glove winner at shortstop this past season. He went in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft to the Baltimore Orioles.

Konner Eaton who played high school baseball at Prince George High School was drafted out of George Mason where he was the team’s ace this past season starting 14 games and striking out 82 batters. He went in the sixth round of the 2024 MLB Draft to the Colorado Rockies.

Will Riley who played high school baseball at James River High School was drafted out of Virginia Military Institute where he started 14 games for the Keydets and struck out 84 batters in 78 innings pitched. He went in the eighth round of the 2024 MLB Draft to the Seattle Mariners.

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