School governance has been on everyone's mind lately. Each person has an opinion on who should be in charge. The Mayor? School Board? Congress? Some combination of the three? As we are debating these, problems persist, and I want to just take a minute to let everybody know that while we are debating, the kids are suffering. Here's an example of what's wrong, as outlined by DC School Board President, Robert Bobb, after he visited a local school:
He talked about school security being so porous that teachers call each other at the end of classes to serve as safety escorts. He mentioned school supplies being borrowed or puchased by the teachers themselves due to budget errors and lack of funds. Facilities were so dilapidated that parts of the classrooms are not in use. His list of issues and concerns observed in one day were so numerous we could not mention them all here. Imagine if you were the student. Imagine if your child had to go to school in these conditions.
One more thought: DC spends more money per pupil than any other school system in the country. Things cannot get much worse. Let's get to work.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
MLK Parade Produces Mixed Emotions
Yesterday's 28th annual parade to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. was fantastic! The parade route began at Ballou High School and ended at the big chair in Anacostia. I participated in the Ward 8 Democrats and DC Young Democrats contingent that marched together--right behind DC United! DC United is doing a tremendous job ingratiating themselves east of the river, which will pay off for them if their new stadium ever gets built.
The parade was a truly amazing experience. The organizers were so welcoming and you could feel the spirit of unity among all those marching and all those standing on the sidewalks and watching. In a city that is so divided, and in a neighborhood that has been forgotten by more fortunate residents west of the river, the pride exhibited by local residents was magnificent.
While it was thrilling and joyous to celebrate yesterday, I could not help but feel a sense of sadness. I was one of the few white participants in the parade, and it was evident that while the parade was a celebration, only a small part of our city was actually celebrating. The MLK parade should be an event where residents from all over the city, not just in Anacostia, but from Georgetown, the Palisades and AU Park, can come together to honor the life of one of the greatest Americans in our country's history.
This parade could be an opportunity for residents who rarely travel east of the river to get a glimpse of what life is like for so many in this city. Perhaps it would inspire them to get more involved in the community. In addition to spending hours at community meetings arguing about traffic congestion, trash pickup, and other matters, it would be wonderful if our residents also spent their time fighting poverty or mentoring young children east of the river or in other disadvantaged communities.
The parade was a truly amazing experience. The organizers were so welcoming and you could feel the spirit of unity among all those marching and all those standing on the sidewalks and watching. In a city that is so divided, and in a neighborhood that has been forgotten by more fortunate residents west of the river, the pride exhibited by local residents was magnificent.
While it was thrilling and joyous to celebrate yesterday, I could not help but feel a sense of sadness. I was one of the few white participants in the parade, and it was evident that while the parade was a celebration, only a small part of our city was actually celebrating. The MLK parade should be an event where residents from all over the city, not just in Anacostia, but from Georgetown, the Palisades and AU Park, can come together to honor the life of one of the greatest Americans in our country's history.
This parade could be an opportunity for residents who rarely travel east of the river to get a glimpse of what life is like for so many in this city. Perhaps it would inspire them to get more involved in the community. In addition to spending hours at community meetings arguing about traffic congestion, trash pickup, and other matters, it would be wonderful if our residents also spent their time fighting poverty or mentoring young children east of the river or in other disadvantaged communities.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Papering Resolution Introduced
Councilmembers Wells and Mendelson today introduced the resolution on the papering of arrests. I wrote about this issue in one of my posts a couple weeks ago. Note in the Examiner article following this entry that the US Attorney seems to have no interest in changing the system. I guess he does not care since he is not accountable to DC residents, only to President Bush. Kudos to Wells and Mendelson for pushing this issue!
Over the next few weeks/months, I am going to be visiting the Citizens Advisory Councils at each police district throughout the city to urge them to write the US Attorney, urging off-hour service for our officers. Our officers at MPD deserve it and our citizens deserve imporoved public safety.
From the Examiner:
Wells, Mendelson call for police booking reform
11 hrs ago - Two District of Columbia council members have called for the reform of the city’s costly police booking system, which requires officers to personally take arrest reports to court each morning after an arrest.
Over the next few weeks/months, I am going to be visiting the Citizens Advisory Councils at each police district throughout the city to urge them to write the US Attorney, urging off-hour service for our officers. Our officers at MPD deserve it and our citizens deserve imporoved public safety.
From the Examiner:
Wells, Mendelson call for police booking reform
11 hrs ago - Two District of Columbia council members have called for the reform of the city’s costly police booking system, which requires officers to personally take arrest reports to court each morning after an arrest.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Schools Part 2 - Leadership
I have heard rumblings that there is some discontent with Victor Reinoso. I'm not sure why it is happening, especially since the mayor has not even officially taken the reigns at DCPS. It's possible that Mr. Reinoso is simply being attacked by opponents of the Mayor's education plan since attacking a popular mayor is not a politically smart move. To me, Mr. Reinoso seems to be a sensible leader with an excellent background in education. The fact that he served on the school board should be seen as a plus He knows DCPS from close in and has extensive knowledge of some of the biggest problems at DCPS.
I haven't seen much publicly written about this topic yet, and criticism has not really been aired citywide, but I would like to offer some advice. In New York, when people attack Joel Klein, Mayor Bloomberg immediately rushes to his defense. After all, Mayor Bloomberg is really the person in charge, and he needs to take the heat so that the Chancellor can do his job without distractions.
Mayor Fenty needs to do the same thing with Mr. Reinoso if it ever gets to that point. It will be some time before we can objectively rate the job that Mr. Reinoso is doing, so let's not make predictions or launch ad homonym attacks. Only the children will suffer if the new education system falls prey to politics and public relations.
I haven't seen much publicly written about this topic yet, and criticism has not really been aired citywide, but I would like to offer some advice. In New York, when people attack Joel Klein, Mayor Bloomberg immediately rushes to his defense. After all, Mayor Bloomberg is really the person in charge, and he needs to take the heat so that the Chancellor can do his job without distractions.
Mayor Fenty needs to do the same thing with Mr. Reinoso if it ever gets to that point. It will be some time before we can objectively rate the job that Mr. Reinoso is doing, so let's not make predictions or launch ad homonym attacks. Only the children will suffer if the new education system falls prey to politics and public relations.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Schools Part 1
We all saw the 9-2 vote in the City Council yesterday indicating a pending approval of the Mayor's takeover plan. Now that the plan appears almost certain, let's discuss how to move forward. I believe that if the school board had done such an effective job running the schools, we would never have arrived in the dire state we are currently in. Whether the takeover was the right way to solve the problem is now a moot point. But there are some aspects that worry me, and one in particular:
As of now, I believe the City Council will have line-item veto power over the budget. This is worrisome because it leaves the door open for political game playing, with council members trying to direct money to their particular wards in order to please constituents. That could turn into pork-barrel politics, DC style.
Things cannot get much worse than they are right now, so let's not play games with the lives of our children. At this point, it is up to Mayor Fenty to provide the way forward for our schools. Let's let him do the best job he can without allowing politics water down his agenda. In four years we will give him his report card.
As of now, I believe the City Council will have line-item veto power over the budget. This is worrisome because it leaves the door open for political game playing, with council members trying to direct money to their particular wards in order to please constituents. That could turn into pork-barrel politics, DC style.
Things cannot get much worse than they are right now, so let's not play games with the lives of our children. At this point, it is up to Mayor Fenty to provide the way forward for our schools. Let's let him do the best job he can without allowing politics water down his agenda. In four years we will give him his report card.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
