By Fritz Edelstein
May 10, 2004

Washington (DC) Mayor Anthony A. Williams gets an "A" for the time and effort he has invested in his attempts to improve the governance structure of the District of Columbia Public Schools. He is being persistent by continuing to offer suggestions on reorganizing the governance of the public schools so the mayor has a significant and more substantive role. Though the D.C. council rejected his last proposal, the mayor has promised to offer a new proposal within two weeks.

Williams believes that the status quo is not acceptable and changes need to be made in order to improve the quality of education for children attending the nation's capital public schools. This new proposal has been shaped in an effort to attract the support of several D.C. council members who objected to the mayor's original proposal. The new proposal makes the school system a cabinet-level agency with an executive officer or chancellor appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council. It also calls for a 13-member school board comprised of elected members from each of the eight wards, two community representatives, and two council members with the mayor as chair. The existing school board would be elevated to a State Board of Education that would be independent and with broad policy making authority over standards, teacher certification and attendance. Also, it consolidates the two public charter school authorities to eliminate duplication — the D.C. Board of Education and the Public School Charter Board. As the proposal is refined with the D.C. city council, the mayor will continue to seek the political will across the District to make the necessary changes.