The District will completely fund the $2 million college-assistance program for low-income students that Congress cut $500,000 from in its budget deal with the president.
Where will the local dollars for the Leveraging Educational Assistance Grant Program, or LEAP, come from? We’re not entirely sure. Does Mayor Vincent Gray want you to know he’s all about education? He sure does!
“There is no more important goal than helping our students attend and complete college,” Gray said. “Despite Congress’ recent action to undermine this goal, I remain committed to helping as many District students as we can get to college by continuing support of the LEAP program.”
LEAP provides about 2,500 low-income District students with scholarships up to $950 to pay for fees, moving expenses and books. Previously, the District pitched in $1.5 million for the project while Congress threw in the $500k.
Gray and State Superintendent Hosanna Mahaley have “committed to finding those dollars in citywide gap-closing measures in FY2011,” according to Gray’s news release.
The feds also fund the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program, or DCTAG, which provides up to $10,000 in tuition for college-bound students; it was left alone in Congress’s budget deal.
