Mayor Bill de Blasio’s taste for change in the city’s schools apparently does not extend to the agency in charge of building new ones.
De Blasio announced today that he is appointing Lorraine Grillo to be School Construction Authority president, a post she has held since 2010. SCA is in charge of constructing and renovating the city’s TK school buildings.
According to the city’s announcement, Grillo’s priorities include planning school construction that reduces class size and allows for the expansion of pre-kindergarten programs, two of de Blasio’s top education agenda items. She is also the mother of three daughters in public schools.
“It’s no secret: This is my dream job. I love this work because it lays the foundation for everything else we do in education,” Grillo said in a statement. “As a public school parent, I know what this work means to families. Doing it right means smaller class sizes and more opportunity for children. We are committed to investing in new ways to support children in every single community.”
Like many of de Blasio’s appointees, Grillo also gave to his campaign. We reported in 2012 that she had donated $725 to his election bid.