DCFPI: Schools First in Budgeting Testimony
/Testimony of Qubilah Huddleston,
Senior Policy Analyst B24-0570, “Schools First In Budgeting Amendment Act of 2021”
Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Qubilah Huddleston, and I am a Senior Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI). DCFPI is a non-profit organization that shapes racially-just tax, budget, and policy decisions by centering Black and brown communities in our research and analysis, community partnerships, and advocacy efforts to advance an antiracist, equitable future. DCFPI has long researched and testified about the need for both the District and DC Public Schools (DCPS) to engage in less opaque and more sound budgeting processes—such as developing a current services budget for public schools to accurately estimate how much it truly costs to provide a high-quality education to all of DC’s children.1