[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E945-E946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO AN EDUCATOR: IN THANKS TO DAVID GROSS OF SAN DIEGO, 
                               CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2000

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to a friend of 
education and a dedicated public servant to the people of San Diego: 
Mr. David Gross, the budget supervisor to San Diego City Schools, who 
has retired from the schools after 23 years of service this past April.
  As budget supervisor, David exercised particular interest and 
expertise in ensuring that children with disabilities had the 
educational resources they needed to succeed in school. He had 
responsibility for special education, gifted and talented programs, the 
Health Services Billing System and major categorical programs. With 
this responsibility, he worked closely with teachers, administrators 
and families to develop budget plans that met students' needs.
  In fact, David was a statewide leader in this important field. He was 
a member of the State Special Education Fiscal Task Force and the 
Department of Education's Financial Reporting Oversight Committee. He 
assisted in the development of the California Association of School 
Business Officials' Training Manual, and piloted the system established 
by the State of California for school districts to bill MediCal and 
private insurance companies for health services provided in school.
  David served on several other state and local leadership boards 
important to the improvement of special education. These included 
service on the Special Education Task Force (1986-88), the Local 
Education Area Health and Social Services Advisory Committee (1994-98), 
Advisory Committee on

[[Page E946]]

Special Education (1996-99), and the AB 602 Special Disabilities 
Working Group.
  This important work is no less important to excellent education than 
is the day-to-day dedication of parents, teachers and other 
administrators; for if the school system lacked the administration of 
resources to do its job, school literally could not open. Even so, 
David took this critical financial stewardship task to a higher level 
by continually taking great care to ensure that his work in school 
system budgets was related to the real, day-to-day educational needs of 
students, and professional needs of teachers and administrators. For 
many years, he served hour upon hour as a volunteer tutor in a local 
San Diego area elementary school.
  Let the permanent Record of the Congress of the United States show 
that Mr. David Gross is a friend of education and a friend to America, 
and a dedicated and gifted public servant whose hard work and great 
talent will be honored and missed by his friends and colleagues.

                          ____________________