DC Council Budget Oversight Hearing for FY23 - Cathy Reilly
/DC Council Budget Oversight Hearing for FY23
March 28, 2022
Cathy Reilly – Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators
We are a rich city, we are so fortunate and this is a huge budget to ensure gets spent in the best way.
The executive has control and responsibility for the DCPS schools. Choice in the DC education landscape is a compliment to the DCPS neighborhood schools of right. This has been stated verbally and in writing by the DME
In this context we would hope to see an Operating and Capital Plan that reflected the importance of investing in and maintaining the DCPS core system of quality neighborhood schools along with the DCPS options. This requires planning and engagement that looks at decisions through a number of different lenses. This is articulated here from C4DC.
These decisions in the Capital budget do meet that priority and are welcome and celebrated
· The Capital investment in a DCPS middle school at the former Banneker HS location on Euclid Street. This fulfils the promise to the Shaw community and provides the potential for a strong middle school in the center of the city that will feed into Cardozo High School. The planning on this can get started immediately and should be done with Cardozo, the feeder pattern communities, and in concert with any funds spent on the Francis Stevens swing space which along with the fall of 24 move out date for FS can move the middle school forward sooner.
· The addition of a cafeteria at Coolidge HS to relieve the crowding at the cafeteria currently shared by both Ida B Wells and Coolidge
· A new field for Dunbar HS
· The continued modernizations of the phase 1 elementary schools throughout the city.
On other fronts however:
We see the consequences of the failure to plan at Roosevelt HS, which is succeeding and thriving with a projection of 868 next year. This growth along with the decision to convert the co-located STAY program to a day school and then close Washington Met has meant that the expanded enrollment at both schools is now constraining and jeopardizing them in this building built for 1000 as one school. STAY students deserve their own space and Roosevelt has grown and now requires the full use of its building. We need the Council to weigh in and ensure there is a remedy prior to next fall. There are possible solutions.
We are in support of the decision to relieve crowding at Jackson Reed HS but not of the size and the notion that equity is served by opening up equity access selective seats at this level. It assumes that the other by right DCPS high schools do not offer a quality program. That is just not true. If OSSE adopts the dashboard on the school report card, this will be even more evident.
The Equitable Access designated seats is actually a DCPS policy that was put in place for pre K seats which are all in the lottery. It has not been used at the high school level where there is already considerable unused capacity.[1]
The expansion should not move forward at this time. This addition to increase the size of the MacArthur Blvd high school to 1000 students along with the 1800 capacity of Jackson Reed would make Ward 3 home to one of the highest DCPS high school capacities in the city. Looking at current rates and projections, wards 2 and 3 have the lowest birth rates in the city. There is something wrong with this picture and this way of making policy.
I would be remiss to not also mention as the facilitator of the Ward 4 Ed Alliance that Truesdell and then Whittier and LaSalle Backus need swing space closer to home.
We support the testimony by the Ward 7 Education Council regarding the use of the Winston campus and its possible potential location as a feeder school to Woodson SHS. These concerns echo the concern on a lack of planning that has a local and a citywide view, one that looks at consequences.
For schools that saw a real increase in operating funds and thus in the ability to hire needed staff- the budget process was laced with hope and even excitement. There is also cautious hope with the partnership with XQ and re-envisioning DCPS high schools.
For those that have been here awhile, the influx of funds at some schools has also led to anxiety that when the federal funds are gone, there will be an unsustainable loss with a possible RIF. There are schools that were even told to prepare for a reduction in staff for FY24 because of the use of stability funds. There are still unanswered questions and concerns with the new DCPS model. As you have noted, it is part of the life of a school system that enrollments fluctuate. There has to be a method to ensure stability. We will work with you on your proposed bill B24-0570 “Schools First in Budgeting Amendment Act on this.
We support the push articulated by Qubilah Huddleston of DCFPI regarding mental health as well as the asks of EmpowerEd on outdoor learning funding
[1] DC Public Schools is proud to be a national leader in providing early childhood education to our youngest learners. The Equitable Access Designated Seats program is designed to expand access to Prekindergarten seats at DC Public Schools for students furthest from opportunity. Families who meet the criteria will receive additional considerations in the school lottery process when applying for certain schools. https://dcps.dc.gov/page/dcps-equitable-access-designated-seats#:~:text=The%20Equitable%20Access%20Designated%20Seats,when%20applying%20for%20certain%20schools.