Politics

Condoleezza Rice Taking Over Jeb Bush’s Education Foundation

Published

9 years ago

January 23, 2015

Oakland Post

Condoleezza Rice on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, Calif. (AP Photo)

THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday tapped former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to serve as chairman of his education foundation, turning over the organization to the former diplomat and academic who remains popular inside the Republican Party.

Rice, a professor at Stanford University and partner in a consulting firm, has for the past two years served as a board member of the Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Bush launched the group after serving two terms as Florida governor. It served as the primary vehicle through which he maintained a public profile and pushed to export the education policies he pioneered in Florida to other states.

“I cannot overstate Dr. Rice’s international and national accomplishments and the vast intellect and bold vision she brings to our ambitious work in reform,” Bush said in a letter to foundation staff obtained by The Associated Press.

Bush formally left the foundation late last year, resigning as part of his preparations for a possible run for president in 2016. He also left the boards of several for-profit companies, including Tenet Healthcare Corp. and timber company Rayonier Inc.

In his letter, Bush said F. Philip Handy, who served as chairman of the Florida State Board of Education under Bush and as chairman of his two campaigns for governor, would become the foundation’s president.

While hardly an endorsement of a presidential campaign that has yet to formally launch, Rice’s move to take over the leadership of Bush’s foundation was sure to be noticed by the GOP activists already engaged in the 2016 race.

“Of course, they are going to think she must be inclined to support Jeb,” said Henry Barbour, a Republican National Committee member from Mississippi. “That doesn’t make it so. But reasonable people could come to that conclusion.”

It was a natural decision for Rice to accept the post, based on her commitment to education and her long friendship with Bush, Rice chief of staff Georgia Godfrey said.

As to whether it is an endorsement of a would-be candidate Bush, Godfrey said, “There’s not a candidate yet, so there’s not an endorsement to be given.”

Bush’s foundation’s worked with state legislatures and lobbied them to adopt what he called the “Florida formula,” anchored by strict accountability measures for teachers and students. The measures included an A-through-F grading system for schools, private-school vouchers and ending so-called social promotion for third graders who fail reading tests.

Meanwhile, Bush was meeting Thursday in Utah with 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Aides said the meeting was planned well before Romney surprised many in the party with the news that is considering making a third run for president in 2016.

“I respect him a lot. I admire him a lot,” Bush told KUTV as he arrived at the Salt Lake City airport. “He’s a great American. I look forward to seeing him.”

The meeting drew laughs on Twitter from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, another likely 2016 contender, who joked online that Bush “apparently gave Mitt Romney a ‘third time’s a charm’ bracelet at their meeting in Utah today.”

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.