Events Leading Up To DC Public School Closings Lawsuit

events_leading_up_to_lawsuit

From left to right – Adrian Fenty, Vincent Gray, Kaya Henderson and Michelle Rhee.

Although the injunction that would have stopped the closing of 15 DC Public Schools was denied and we’re still waiting to find out the date for the hearing that will decide the actual merits of the case, it might make sense to remind ourselves of the events that led to the lawsuit in the first place.

In my experience, the seeds for the lawsuit were sown in the first week of January, 2007, when the newly elected Council chair (Vincent Gray) dissolved the Committee on Education and the newly elected mayor (Adrian Fenty)  announced his intention to take over the schools.

There was strong opposition to that idea expressed in testimony at the hearings and through protests and demonstrations.  There was a call for the matter to be decided by the people in a referendum since a mayoral takeover required a change to the Home Rule Charter that would decrease the people’s power in determining their own affairs for themselves.

By June, Fenty had, through the Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007 (PERAA), stolen the power of the people and taken it unto himself. The law further decreased the power of the people by putting the elected Board of Education way over there to the side as an advisory body with little if any power, while the Council’s power to focus on education matters through a committee was weakened to near nothing by being dispersed among all thirteen members.

With the people shoved aside–no more Board of Education responsible for hiring the best qualified school Superintendent and no more Education Committee on the Council–Fenty used his power to appoint into the PERAA created position of “chancellor,” a woman who had never run a public school district before in her life.  This too was opposed because the mayor bypassed the provisions of the law that first, required a search committee be formed to find candidates for the position, and second, required that the person be qualified by education and experience.  That opposition was ignored as well.

Rhee’s experience in education consisted of attendance at private schools herself, three years of Teach for America experience in a pilot program to test a profit making company’s idea in a Baltimore public school, and 10 years as the founder and president of a teacher placement agency called the New Teacher Project in NYC.  Nevertheless, Fenty handed DCPS over to her on a silver platter and the two of them quickly adopted an attitude that DCPS belonged to them in a very private manner and no one else had any say in it.  Within two years of the establishment of the Ombudsman’s office, it was “defunded” and never heard about again.

Don't_close-Sharpe_or_Spingarn

Parents protest the closing of their children’s schools.

Throughout their tenures, opposition arose to many of the actions they took. Hundreds of people, elementary, middle and high school students among them, testified at innumerable Council hearings about the way teachers and their union were being treated–closing 23 schools, budgets that were all over the place, the assignment and reassignment of principles in all manner of nonsensical ways and much, much more. For the most part, the Council’s response was to shrug their shoulders claiming there was nothing they could do.

In 2010, Fenty was defeated by Gray; Rhee left; and Gray, also ignoring the provisions in PERAA for filling the position of “chancellor,” simply calls up Rhee’s Deputy, Kaya Henderson, who had no more idea of how to run a public school system than Rhee.  Henderson came from public schools in a middle class suburban district, also got into teaching the Teach for America way and spent 3 years teaching Spanish before she became the Vice-president of the New Teacher Project (NTP).  In that position she acquired a contract for NTP with DCPS to place teachers in it and eventually moved to DC to manage the contract on site.

Henderson and Gray have continued what Fenty and Rhee started–keeping the public’s voice out of any say in how the schools are run, despite the fact they they are funded by the public’s money.

The five year report on the mayoral takeover required by PERAA came due in 2012. But it has not been forthcoming. What the public got instead was another so-called Five Year Strategic Plan, “A Capital Commitment” that reads as nothing more than a list of many of the same problems DCPS started with in 2007. But the strategic plan, together with five years of test scores going up and down in small amounts but never consistently up, and all overshadowed by suspicion of cheating to boot, shows just how little mayoral control and a “reform” regime of TFA “thinking” writ large to an entire public school district have yielded for all the money that has been spent and all the pain endured.

Henderson’s announcement last November just before the holiday season to close 20 more schools was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The pain of being excluded from a say in the schools crystalized into a stand–“Enough!”

While Mendelson won the election for Council chair and by January had restablished the Committee on Education, parents and other members of the public, whose voices had been ignored by their elected representatives for 6 years, did the smart thing and moved on to the Court in order to be heard as to the injustice of decisions that they had no part in being made about their children, that prevented them from protecting their children and finally to stop the plan to implement another decision of harm against them.

The parents who actually brought the suit spoke for and represented thousands upon thousands of parents and other members of the public aware of the need for a serious examination of the direction DCPS has been led in since 2007. It was the major issue in the recent special election. The public is done being treated as though DCPS is the private possession of the mayor and “chancellor.”

Regardless of the Judge’s ruling, the parents have made their point and that is a win for all of us.

Chicago to Shutter 50 Public Schools: Is Historic Mass Closure an Experiment in Privatization?

Cross-posted from Democracy Now

As the academic year winds down, a record number of Chicago schools are preparing to close their doors for good in the largest mass school closing ever in one U.S. city. Last week, the Chicago Board of Education voted to close 50 of the city’s public schools in a move that will impact some 30,000 students, around 90 percent of them African American. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pushed for the closures in order to save the city more than $500 billion, half of its deficit. “Rahm Emanuel actually does not have an educational plan, he has an economic development plan,” says our guest Diane Ravitch, who served as the assistant secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush. Proponents say the closures will hit schools that are both underperforming and underutilized. But a vocal coalition of parents, teachers and students has fought back, warning that the closures will lead to overcrowded classrooms and endanger those students forced to walk longer distances to their new schools.

For Democracy Now’s full report, watch the video below:

Judge Rules on School Closings Lawsuit

Last week, Empower DC and a number of DC Public School parents went to court to plead for an injunction to keep 15 more schools from being closed under Mayor Vince Gray and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s consolidation plan.

Education Town Hall with Johnny Barnes

According to Johnny Barnes, the lead attorney in the case, the case includes four complaints:

1)  The school consolidation plan violates the law that requires equal protection to all District Citizens.   “Hobson v Hansen made clear that the equal protection clause applies to DC through the 5th amendment: If you offer education to one student you have to offer to all.”

2) The school consolidation plan violates Title VI, which states that you can’t treat different classes of individuals disparately.

3) The school consolidation plan violates the  Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act both of which contend that when dealing with special education students, you have to design individually, not with a blanket plan to close a school.

4) The school consolidation plan is in violation of the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Act.

In a 31-page opinion, which analyzed each of plaintiffs’ claims, US District court Judge James E. Boasberg ruled against Empower DC, stating: “In this case, there is no evidence whatsoever of any intent to discriminate on the part of Defendants, who are actually transferring children out of weaker, more segregated, and under-enrolled schools.”

But according to Barnes, “The case is not over. The battle is just beginning…The ruling was on the injunction, not on the merits on the case. The govt has not even filed a response.” Barnes’ case centers around “protected classes” of race, residence, disability, he said, noting that 100 schools have been closed in DC since 1976, but not one in Ward 3, home to the city’s wealthiest residents.

Attorney Barnes and Jonetta Rose Barras discuss the judge’s ruling during the May 16, 2013 episode of We Act Radio’s Education Town Hall, which airs every Thursday at 11:00 AM.  The full interview can be found at the link is posted below:

Jonetta Rose Barras and Johnny Barnes, Esq. on The Education Town Hall w/Thomas Byrd May 16 2013 by Education_Town_Hall on Mixcloud

Attorney Johnny Barnes and Empower DC plan to appeal the case.   The courts ruling should be judged against the mounting evidence  that DC’s School Consolidation and Reorganization Plan have not saved the District of Columbia money or improved school outcomes.

Stop DC Public School Closures

For those of us who follow the debate over school reform/school closings in the District of Columbia, the story of River Terrace Elementary School is not unfamiliar.  In December of 2010, Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson proposed that the school be closed due to under-enrollment.  In January, a meeting was held at River Terrace Elementary  to discuss the concerns of the community.  Residents were angry about the decision to close the school and the lack of input from the community during the decision-making process.  As you can see from the video below, many legitimate questions were raised; none of them have been answered.

River Terrace Elementary School is just one of the many Washington, DC public schools closed or threatened with closure since the reign of Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.  Despite overwhelming community support, River Terrace was shut down.  But the tide is turning.  Although Rhee and her policies were in favor during the Administration of Mayor Adrian Fenty, the lack of improvement in test scores and the disruption to communities is causing many to think twice about reforming schools by closing them down.

The latest effort to stop DC public school closures is a lawsuit brought by Empower DC against the city to stop the latest round of school closings.  The following excerpt from the Empower DC’s complaint explains their argument:

“The 2013-2014 ‘DCPS Consolidation and Reorganization Plan’ will have a startlingly disparate impact on students of color, special education students and students who live in low-income communities; and that disparate impact violates the United States Constitution, the D.C. Human Rights Law and applicable federal laws.  There is a striking juxtaposition between how the Plan treats students “East of the Park,” those in predominantly minority, low-income communities, and yet spares students “West of the Park,” those in predominantly caucasian, affluent communities.  The same is true with respect to how the Plan treats schools housing special education students.  School closures are not immune to judicial scrutiny.”

Empower DC has their first day in court this Friday, May 10, 2013.  Join them and the plaintiff’s in the case for a rally on the courthouse steps.  Details follow:

Show Your Support for the Lawsuit To

STOP DC PUBLIC SCHOOL CLOSURES

Friday, May 10, 2013

US District Court, 333 Constitution Avenue, NW

Rally @ 9:30 AM / Hearing @ 11:00 AM

Pack the Hearing Room #19

For more information about Empower DC’s Public Education Campaign, contact daniel@empowerdc.org.

D.C. School Closures Likely to Spark Interest From Commercial Real Estate Industry

Cross-posted from the Washington Post
By Jonathan O’Connell

For all the difficulty and anguish of closing under-utilized public schools, the process is likely to prompt excitement from at least one constituency in the city: real estate developers.

When Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced in 2007 that they would try to close 24 public schools, the interest from the commercial real estate industry was immediate, and for good reason.

Some of the schools Fenty and Rhee proposed shuttering — and which ultimately closed — held high commercial value. Hine Jr. High School on Capitol Hill, across from Eastern Market, and Stevens Elementary School, in the West End, topped the list. Hine is on its way to becoming a mixed-use project led by EastBanc, and Akridge and Ivymount School plan to turn Stevens into an office building and special education center.

What are the prospects for the 20 schools pegged for closure by Kaya Henderson, schools chancellor Mayor Vincent C. Gray?

It is not clear. When Fenty and Rhee began closing schools, Neil O. Albert, then-deputy mayor for planning and economic development, did not take long to see empty school building as a redevelopment opportunity. Fenty and Rhee announced their plans to close the schools in November of 2007 and by December of 2008, Albert had analyzed the available properties and prepared 11 of them for commercial real estate developers to bid on (which they announced two days before Christmas).

Henderson, on the other hand, said Tuesday that she wants to keep all of the schools within the school system’s control and has already announced plans to re-use many of them.

Of the 20 schools (or 19 buildings), she suggests that 11 buildings be kept by DCPS, either to plan for future expansion of the school system or for expansion of other educational programs. These include: Francis-Stevens, Garrison, MacFarland, Marshall, Spingarn, Prospect, Shaw at Garnet-Patterson, Davis, Kenilworth, Ferebee-Hope and Johnson.

For three other schools, Henderson says she has set aside for possible use by charters schools. Those are Sharpe Health School, Hamilton campus and Malcolm X. That leaves five listed as “to be determined” and Shaw at Garnet-Patterson as possibly “to be determined.”

Jose Sousa, spokesman for Victor Hoskins, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said early Tuesday afternoon that he had not seen the list of proposed schools to close and declined comment.

Regardless of whether Henderson succeeds in closing the schools but retaining control of the buildings, there is nothing on the current list of closures that approach Hine or Stevens in terms of commercial real estate value. Nine of the properties, for instance, are located east of the Anacostia River, which has not traditionally been a magnet for new development.

But there are certainly properties that will attract commercial interest.

Although Henderson has it pegged for expansion of a high school for School Without Walls, Francis-Stevens Education campus, at 2425 N St. NW, is sandwiched between Rock Creek Park and neighborhoods in the West End. It’s down the street from the Fairmont Hotel and the Park Hyatt.

Garrison Elementary, at 1200 S St. NW, is just north of Logan Circle. Nearby, Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, at 2001 10th Street NW, is just north of U Street, in an area in which the JBG Cos. is aggressively adding new apartments and retail.

There are some potentially attractive properties in Northeast as well, near the booming H Street corridor. Prospect Learning Center, at 920 F Street NE, is between H Street and Capitol Hill. Spingarn High School, at 2500 Benning Road NE, is along the first streetcar route planned by the city and has been discussed as a property on which to store the new streetcars. Henderson plans for it to be turned into a career and technical education center.

The education discussion comes first. But shortly thereafter, expect the real estate discussion to begin.