Checks and Balances
Dear Balancers:
It’s time to go back to basics. As we were all taught in elementary
school, checks and balances are the genius of the American governmental
system and of the form of democratic government that its founders
invented. The three major branches of government, the executive, the
legislative, and the judicial, act as checks and balances on each other.
No single branch is preeminent, and any branch can, under certain
circumstances, veto and thwart the actions of the others. In the end,
the people are the ultimate source of all the power and authority that
they delegate to the government and its three branches, and they have
the right and power to overrule and even to reconstitute them.
That system of checks and balances makes our democracy clumsy,
slow-moving, and often frustrating. But it protects us against much
bigger problems than slowness and frustration. Checks and balances are
most necessary when the problems faced by government and society are
worst, when the temptation is greatest to abandon these democratic
protections. When a society is divided, when the issues that face it are
most divisive, when the best solution to a problem is hard to discern or
when there is no best solution, that is when open public debate and
consultation among the branches of government and the people is most
necessary. A good democratic government executive would not react to a
difficult issue by resorting to unilateral decisionmaking, pretending
that he was merely relieving the public and the legislature of the
unpleasantness and messiness of public debate. A good executive would
facilitate the process of public resolution; he would relish public
debate, not seek to evade it. A public debate in the District over
whether to close public schools and which schools to close would
undoubtedly become loud and ugly, but school closing decisions made in
secret meetings behind closed doors are inherently corrupt, as Marc
Borbely demonstrates below.
Not only were the school closing decisions made in secret; Fenty is
trying to keep the school budget a secret, too. We’re back to a system
in which the executive hides the true budget from the city council, and
thus from the people. On November 4, I wrote about how mayoral General
Counsel Peter Nickles kept from the council Chief Financial Officer
Natwar Gandhi’s reservations about the deal for the city to subsidize
the purchase of Greater Southeast Community Hospital (http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/cfo071023.htm).
Last week, it was revealed that School Chancellor Michelle Rhee withheld
from the city council a letter from Pamela Graham, CFO for the schools,
that said the school system’s “deficit could be as high as $100
million” this year (http://www.dcpswatch.com/mayor/071121.htm).
Although the mayor claimed in an October 3 press release that his
supplemental budget included “only” $47 million for additional
school financing, when all the requests for school financing that are
currently in the supplemental budget are added, they total $118.2
million including the funds for schools that are hidden in requests for
other agencies. For example, the administration admitted, in a November
19 letter in response to questioning from Council Chairman Vincent Gray,
that one $6,000,000 request for the Workforce Investment Fund is
intended to pay DCPS salaries, and that a separate $22,082,000 request
for the Workforce Investment Fund is intended to pay for cost-of-living
pay increases for DCPS employees. The additional request for the Office
of the Chief Technology Officer is intended to pay for converting the
DCPS from one computerized personnel system, CAPPS, to another,
PeopleSoft.
During the last election, candidate Adrian Fenty never gave any
specific recommendations about what should be done to fix the school
system. He just said that "fixing" the schools would be
important in a Fenty administration. He never advocated a mayoral
takeover of the schools or removing all important powers from the
elected school board. He never hinted at that, so it never became part
of the election debate, and the people never had a chance to vote for or
against it. Secrecy in school closings, misleading budgets, and a
deceptive political campaign. Against that, I’ll take checks and
balances any day.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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After an eight-day trip to Seattle we arrived home to a mountain of
fallen leaves. This is a dilemma for us. The good news about living on
Massachusetts Avenue is that we need only to blast out of our
eighty-foot driveway and we are on a snow emergency route when it snows.
The bad news is that we don’t have leaf pickup at the curb. We can
mulch some of the leaves, but then we must bag the rest for pick up,.
five bags each week. Even shredded, it takes about five weeks of trash
pickup to get rid of all the bags.
When asked about pickup of the leaves when raked to the grassy space
between the curb and the sidewalk, the DPW said that there would be no
pick up on Mass. Ave. and the respondent suggested what I call the
Kosciusko maneuver. For those short-in-the-tooth folks, the Kosciusko
maneuver dates back to the 1800’s in Brooklyn. In those days, before
horseless carriages, horses pulled carts through the streets. On one
occasion a horse keeled over dead on Kosciusko street. The local
policeman who had to write up the incident could not spell Kosciusko,
and had the horse dragged around the block to Smith Street. And that is
what I do now, I dump all the leaves around the corner on 48th Street,
where they are picked up in late November or early December.
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Spending More Time Listening and Learning from
Each Other
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
The rise of the Internet has seen a flourishing of creative
expression on blogs, web sites and YouTube. From out of nowhere, YouTube
has grown to deliver two hundred million videos per day. Growing
exponentially, it’s quite likely that YouTube will reach a billion
video views per day sometime in 2008. I see this as a good thing. While
there are many worthless videos on YouTube, there are also many gems.
The Internet community does a fine job of sorting out the wheat from the
chaff. For those who might be interested, I’ve begun some commentary
on this topic at http://tinyurl.com/2g34yb
I’ll have more to say about this as we get closer to that billion
video views per day milestone. There’s a shift of attention going on
out there. People are listening to each other more. And when you listen
more, you learn more.
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Some Background to the School Closure Proposal
Marc Borbely, borbely@FixOurSchools.net
Contrary to the messages we’re getting from Fenty/Rhee/Reinoso, the
proposed school closing list is not some neutral, scientific, value-free
product. Rather, I’ve learned, after speaking with the contractor in
charge of producing the criteria for Deputy Mayor for Education Victor
Reinoso, that it is the result of dozens of policy decisions, many
apparently arbitrary choices, and a decent dose of corruption.
One of those policy decisions, made early on, was that the schools in
Ward 3 should be protected. These schools have relatively higher test
scores, a whiter and richer student body, and PTAs that raise tens or
hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. 21st Century School Fund,
Brookings Institution, and the Urban Institute were hired to provide
Victor Reinoso with school closing criteria. After considering various
possible criteria, they proposed that Reinoso start with a list of the
forty schools that have a below-average enrollment, and a higher than
average enrollment decline over the past five years. A decision was made
to close small schools, because those are the most expensive to run per
pupil -- but only those that were significantly larger five years ago.
This knocks out the small Ward 3 schools, which are small because they
are in small buildings and so could not have been larger five years ago.
Another decision was made not to look initially at the percentage of
students who live close to the school (one thought was to consider
whether a high percentage of students live more than half a mile away,
for instance). This too saved Ward 3 schools. Decision-makers (perhaps
wisely) don’t want to lose Ward 3 parents from DCPS or from the
District. They should be upfront about this. Yes, Ward 3 schools are
"full," but only because of the out-of-boundary process,
driven by the much greater resources in Ward 3 schools. Instead of
closing schools where most students live, DCPS could choose to invest in
them. Most people would much rather send their children to their
neighborhood school than drive them across town.
Once presented with the list of forty schools, Reinoso proceeded to
take twenty-four schools off the list and add seven others, for various
individual school-specific reasons. According to Mary Filardo, executive
director of the 21st Century School Fund, the nonprofits, Hine Junior
High School for example, at Eastern Market, was added to the school
closure list because Councilmember Wells wanted it closed. Brookland
Elementary School was taken off the list because it is next to a rec
center, but similarly valid reasons could be found to keep almost any
school open. Major changes to the fabric of a community should not be
made arbitrarily, without real dialogue with those affected. Dialogue
takes time. If we do this wrong, shoving closures down people’s
throats, as it seems we are about to, we will see the further downward
spiraling of DCPS enrollment, as families will continue to leave the
school system in droves.
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Can’t Say No to Chancellor Rhee
Leo Hendricks, leohendricks@pol.net
[In the November 11 issue of themail, there was this message from Leo
Hendricks. He has resent it, and asks whether there are any comments.
— Gary Imhoff]
In Wednesday’s Northwest Current (November 7, http://www.currentnewspapers.com/admin/uploadfiles/1-181.pdf,
page 5), it was reported that Chancellor Rhee, speaking at a Washington
Rotary Club meeting, said Mayor Fenty told his cabinet members: "No
one is allowed to say no to the chancellor except me. . . . If I hear
that someone is standing in the way of progress, that person’s job
would be at risk."
Mayor Fenty repeated his statement, Rhee said, when he learned that
some high-level city officials were turning down her requests.
Question: save for maybe Mr. Nickles, who else in Mayor Fenty’s
administration has this privilege? Where is it all this going? Oh, by
the way, what is the latest on Mr. Nickles moving to the District?
###############
School Closings
Mary Melchior, Brookland, mulchness@gmail.com
The Chancellor sent a letter to parents with an outline that covers
some ground the Post article didn’t. I was surprised by the
number of schools targeted in Ward 5. One of the rationales for closings
is to save money, and to concentrate resources in fewer schools to
guarantee all schools have the resources for music, art, and special
support teachers like literacy and math resource teachers. But I was
surprised that the schools proposed for closing don’t necessarily seem
to be the worst, and that some of the schools being kept open have
smaller populations than some slated to be closed.
Others have expressed concern about the expanding some elementary
schools through eighth grade. I know there are issues with having
five-year-olds and thirteen-year-olds in the same school, but currently
we have one middle school in the whole city that isn’t failing. I have
my kids at Langdon, and I have a lot more confidence in that school
expanding up to 8th grade successfully than I do in practically any
middle school in the city, except Deal or maybe (very maybe) Hardy or
Stuart-Hobson.
I think this plan shows the problem with control being too
centralized and input from the citizens being weakened. I also think we
need to be prepared to be well rounded with our approach. There is no
doubt that schools have to be closed, but they need to be done
rationally.
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Jim Graham is a fine councilmember, whom I admire very much. He has
every right and reason to be annoyed by Mayor Fenty’s inadequate
efforts to brief or consult the council before announcing major changes
to DC’s school system. I agree with him that the mayor would be
politic to grant the council some respectful standing in deliberations
leading up to executive action since, ultimately, the legislature can
influence or control his programs through the power of the purse. Still,
Graham’s cries of “autocracy” are fluffy and hysterical. Mr.
Imhoff, instead of critically examining Graham’s over-baked
accusation, further lards it with some rhetorical icing of his own —
trying to provoke us with such words as “dictatorship” and
“communism.”
Puh-leeze. . . . DC’s voters did not relinquish their democratic
rights by electing a mayor who promised to do what Adrian Fenty is doing
with the school system. We are not struggling under the iron grip of an
autocrat, crushed by a dictator, or smothered in the political vacuum of
communism. Quite the opposite: citizens rationally chose to place
responsibility and accountability for the performance of our schools in
a single office, the mayor’s — within regular reach of our votes. I
think there is nothing undemocratic in this arrangement.
This isn’t to say a better governance structure for the schools
might not have been devised (although Mr. Imhoff and other critics of
Mayor Fenty’s proposal have never offered a single viable
alternative). This isn’t to say, either, that Adrian Fenty and
Michelle Rhee will prove to be the best possible managers of our schools
(for which failings they would be subject to removal by us citizens in
future elections).
What all this does say is that voters were fed up with a school
system in which responsibility and accountability were so scattered as
to make success practically impossible. The old school board was
populated with some of our best and brightest people but, operating in
that fragmented system, they could produce little more than feckless
analysis and a whole lot of politicking. Meanwhile, the school system
they were supposed to be managing was administered day-to-day by
deadwood bureaucrats and, it now appears, outright thieves. Any
sustained attempt to perform competently in that environment was
paralyzed by a shiftless, unresponsive central office. Too many of the
schools themselves were notorious for the rise of a thug culture in
which learning and achievement were held in low respect. The waste of
human and material capital was immense. It was, from top to bottom, a
catastrophe.
The result of all this is evident in recent reports on a generation
of our young people who have emerged from their schools poorly prepared
for any kind of promising life in today’s knowledge- and
information-based society, where skilled services and intellectual
capital are the main generators of wealth. These are youngsters (now in
their twenties, heading for middle age) whose economic prospects are
lower than their parents’ which, in my view, is the truest mark of
failure in our American culture.
Mr. Imhoff needs to get past his unhappiness over losing the public
debate on Mayor Fenty’s takeover of our schools — a debate which was
settled by the last election (and, surely, will be revisited in the next
one). We voters have spoken, in every precinct of the city. We didn’t
elect the mayor (and hire Ms. Rhee) just to write reports or attend
meetings or get themselves tied down by the “inconveniences of
democracy” (as Mr. Imhoff absurdly puts it); we put them in office to
kick serious butt and radically rearrange the facts on the ground. Given
what’s at stake, we had no choice! I wish them well.
[I must note that Mr. Coe chose his title himself; I did not write
it. — Gary Imhoff]
###############
A Dirty Job
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
Identifying underutilized schools as candidates for closing is a
dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Fenty and Rhee have decided that
it is time to get the schools and budget under control. They are doing
the right thing for the right reasons. Yes, they’ll be a hue and cry
from many of the councilmembers who will really be just posturing for
reelection. And, many parents will scream that there are no school
closings in Ward 3. The schools that I’m familiar with in Ward 3, by
the way, are all chock-a-block full and I’m pretty sure all of the
Ward 3 schools are full to capacity. The dirty job needs to be done.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Gray and Cheh at Cleveland Park, December 4
George Idelson, g.idelson@verizon.net
Vincent Gray, DC Council Chairman, and Mary Cheh, Ward 3
Councilmember, will be the featured speakers at the Tuesday, December 4
meeting of the Cleveland Park Citizens Association. The subject is
“One Year Later.” A year ago, shortly after election, these same
speakers spoke to the association about plans for the year ahead. This
will be a progress report as well as a look at the future agenda of the
council and the city. The meeting takes place at the Cleveland Park
Library, and begins at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome.
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DC Public Library Events, December 4-6
Kandace Foreman, kandace.foreman@dc.gov
Assistive Technology Users Group and Support (TUGS). Assistive
technology users meet to share information. All ages who use assistive
technology for the blind and visually impaired. Tuesday, December 4,
4:15 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, Adaptive Services
Division, Room 215
Poetry at Takoma fall series. Poetry readings by local poets
Katherine Gekker, Michelle Mandolia, and Andrea Wyatt. Tuesday, December
4, 7:30 p.m., Takoma Park Neighborhood Library.
Cinema night, Tuesday, December 4, 11, 18, 7 p.m., Anacostia Interim
Library.
Storytelling in American Sign Language. Tuesday, December 4, 10:30
a.m.; Wednesday, December 5, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; Thursday,
December 6, 10:30 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library,
Children’s Division, Room 200.
The Art and Audiovisual Divisions present ANIME. Every Tuesday in
December, 6 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library Art and
Audiovisual Divisions, Room A-5. December 4, Tokyo Godfathers; December
11, Ghost in the Shell; December 18, Howl’s Moving Castle.
Philosophy Film Series: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth.
Tuesdays, 1 p.m. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library Philosophy
Division, Second Floor, East Lobby. December 4, The Hero’s Adventure
and The Message of the Myth (Vols. 1 and 2); December 11, The First
Storytellers and Sacrifice and Bliss (Vols. 3 and 4); December 18, Love
and the Goddess and Masks of Eternity (Vols. 5 and 6).
Family night out, story time fun and crafts for the whole family in
the Cozy Kids Nook. Every Wednesday in December (5, 12, 19, 26), 7 p.m.,
West End Neighborhood Library.
The Southeast Sister Circle. December 5-29, every Wednesday, 10 a.m.
and every Saturday, 2 p.m., Southeast Neighborhood Library.
Brown Bag Recital Series, music of Brahms and Haydn performed by
cellist Vasily Popov and pianist Ralitza Patcheva.. Thursday, December
6, noon. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, Music Division,
Auditorium A-5.
Let’s Talk About Books. Discuss Never Let Me Go by Kazuo
Ishiguro. Thursday, December 6, 2:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Memorial Library, Language and Literature Division, Room 221.
Movie night, every Thursday in December (6, 13, 20, 27), 4 p.m.,
Robert L. Christian Neighborhood Library.
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Library Design Meetings, December 11-13
Martha Saccocio, marthans@aol.com
The DC Public Library is hosting a series of Community Design
Meetings to work with the communities in designing and constructing
three neighborhood libraries that are currently closed for
reconstruction. The architects will be presenting the latest design
plans to the community. The meetings scheduled are:
Benning Neighborhood Library: Tuesday, December 11, 6:00 p.m.,
Benning Interim Library, 4101 Benning Road, NE; Tenley-Friendship
Neighborhood Library: Wednesday, December 12, 6:00 p.m., Tenley-Friendship
Interim Library, 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW; Anacostia Neighborhood
Library: Thursday, December 13, 6:00 p.m., 1800 Good Hope Road, SE.
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Council Hearing on E-Mails, December 13
Denise Wiktor, dwiktor@dccouncil.us
The Committee on Workforce Development and Government Operations,
chaired by Councilmember Carol Schwartz, will be having a hearing on
December 13 at 10:00 a.m. on a proposed bill to add E-mail to the
records covered by the District’s record retention act. The Committee
is interested in hearing from individuals or organizations that have an
interest in this subject, including best practices, liability concerns,
and historical perspectives. If you are interested in the details of the
proposed legislation, Bill 17-0490, Electronic Mail Public Record
Clarification Amendment Act of 2007, you may view it at http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/images/00001/20071108160455.pdf.
If you are interested in testifying please contact Denise Wiktor,
Committee Counsel, at 724-8105 or dwiktor@dccouncil.us.
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Richard Moe Gets Scully Prize, December 13
Sara Kabakoff, skabakoff@nbm.org
The National Building Museum will present its Ninth Vincent J. Scully
Prize to Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation on Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum,
401 F Street, NW. The Vincent J. Scully Prize and endowment was
established by the National Building Museum in 1999 to recognize
exemplary practice, scholarship, or criticism in architecture, historic
preservation, and urban design. The award recognizes Moe’s leadership
in moving historic preservation into the mainstream of American life and
expanding the public’s understanding of the importance of protecting
and celebrating our heritage. Carolyn Brody, Paul Goldberger, and
William Hart will provide opening remarks. After the prize ceremony, Mr.
Moe will give a presentation on how preservation is making a difference
in the economic vitality and livability of communities by supporting
smart growth and sustainability.
Tickets are $12 for Museum and National Trust for Historic
Preservation members and Students; $20 for nonmembers. Prepaid
registration required. To register, please visit http://www.nbm.org
or call 272-2448. For more information, contact Sara Kabakoff, skabakoff@nbm.org,
272-2448, ext. 3201.
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