January 22, 2007

Less than 24 hours after taking the oath of office, Washington (DC) Mayor Adrian Fenty unveiled his legislative proposal and reasons why he felt it was necessary for the mayor to take control of the city’s public schools. Fenty stated that, “The number one priority of this city is education.” The intent of the mayor’s approach is to provide the city’s children with hope and opportunity through this education reform initiative.

Fenty presented a detailed proposal at a press conference and stated he was submitting it to the city council for its approval. City Council Chair Vincent Gray said there would be immediate public hearings on the proposal. A second approval of the plan will have to be made by Congress, but Fenty said there was already support for his plan from both sides of the aisle.

The plan was developed from the time Fenty first won the Democratic primary through the period of transition after he was elected mayor. Fenty took a very systematic and deliberate approach in making a decision on his role in education. He visited with numerous mayors and school superintendents around the country including those in New York City, Boston, Chicago and Miami. He, also, had discussions with many individuals and the Parthenon consulting group was hired to write a report providing options and strategies for the mayor to increase his involvement and leadership in education. All of these consultations helped shape the proposal.

DC is a very unique case since, for the purposes of federal education funds, it is treated as both a city and a state. Thus, the city council is also the state legislature. It has both a school superintendent, who has doubled as the chief state school officer, and a separate state office of education, but no state board of education.

The mayor’s proposal, first and foremost, makes the mayor accountable and responsible for education. The new Department of Education becomes an agency under the mayor. The title of head of the school system, who would be appointed by the mayor, will be the Chancellor and this individual becomes a member of the mayor’s cabinet. The mayor will propose the school budget and submit it to the city council for approval. The locally-elected school board is elevated to become the State Board of Education and continues to be an elected body. This is a policy board, and will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operation of the schools. The proposal repeals the Home Rule provision creating a local board of education.

The proposal also creates the position of Ombudsman for Public Education to address community and parental concerns and problems. The Ombudsman will report to the Deputy Mayor for Education, who is the chief advisor to the mayor on education issues. Also, the mayor’s plan creates an integrated services model by establishing a commission comprised of the agency heads from every agency dealing with child services, including public safety, justice, health, human services, workforce and education. The intent is to “break down the silos of the District government,” said Fenty.

Fenty also proposes to create a Public Education Facilities Management and Construction Authority. This will be a separate agency from the school department that will independently manage funds for school construction and modernization, establish public-private partnerships and conduct procurements for work on schools. It is intended to bring quality control and efficiency to this process.

The proposal amends the School Reform Act to streamline the charter school authority in the District of Columbia from two different bodies to one, and gives the State Department of Education the authority to hear appeals. This action also strengthens accountability and oversight of the city’s charter schools. The District of Columbia has more charter schools than any other jurisdiction in the nation.

Fenty stated, “The authority and accountability for the schools must be together. We owe it to the children of this city to move forward and stop the finger-pointing. Children must be put first in this city. I want the responsibility to be squarely placed on my shoulders.”