Senator DeGazon To host Town Hall On Education And Housing Wednesday

Senator Allison DeGazon will be hosting a town hall meeting on Wednesday at the Sunny Isle Amphitheater to discuss her committee legislation and issues surrounding housing and education in the community, according to Ms. DeGazon’s office.

The town hall, called “Keeping my word, keeping you informed”, will begin at 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Invited to speak at the town hall will be Carlos McGregor, insular superintendent from the Virgin Islands Department of Education (D.O.E.).

In June, D.O.E. announced that schools territory-wide will move to a K-8 model and will require changes to school uniforms. The department noted that the move to a K-8 model was a necessary step in the right direction to alleviate long-standing employee shortages and decreased student enrollment, eliminate use of aging and damaged school buildings, and reduce operational costs.

According to Ms. DeGazon, the decision has created a slew of questions in the community.

“Our office is hoping to provide a platform for this re-configuration to be further explained, and for any constituent’s questions to be addressed through the primary source,” the first-term senator said.

She also invited the Darryl Griffith, executive director of Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, noting that the Rental Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (R.R.R.P.) “could prove to be very helpful to qualifying landlords and the low-moderate income households of our community.”

R.R.R.P. is a $25 million rental unit rehab program announced by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. last month provides up to $50,000 per apartment to 500 landlords to repair their rental units.

The program is a forgivable 15-year loan to the landlord with the caveat that during that 15-year period the unit must be made available to low to moderate income households with a preference for the section-8 voucher holders.

For more information, contact Ki-Ana Tonge, community liaison, at 340-712-2210 or email [email protected] or Sonia Andrews, Chief of Staff, at 340-712-2240 or email [email protected].