themail.gif (3487 bytes)

October 7, 2009

Unfettered Power

Dear Power Brokers:

Mayor Fenty aims to get unfettered power — unchecked by the city council, laws, and labor agreements — to hire and fire government employees at will. Ximena Hartsock was doing her part by firing child care workers in the Department of Parks and Recreation, against one city law respecting the requirements for privatizing government jobs and another aimed specifically at stopping the firing of DPR child care workers. (For more about Hartsock, see Jonetta Rose Barras’ message below.) On a parallel track, Chancellor Rhee is doing Fenty’s will in the school system. In order to fire teachers and other school system workers without hindrance, Fenty and Rhee have demonized teachers and are lying about the cause of the firings.

The firings were not necessitated by cuts in the school budget made by the city council. In fact, DCPS’s budget this year was fifteen million dollars more than last year’s, for fewer students, and, as Denise Wiktor points out below, DCPS has shed three major areas of expense over the past few years. No, the necessity of the firings was caused by Rhee herself, when she hired hundreds of new teachers that she knew she wouldn’t need. That enabled her to issue a Reduction in Force order and to fire hundreds of teachers and other school employees who were not part of her clique and loyal to her, and whom she wanted to get rid of without the inconvenience of obeying the union agreement and city laws regulating firing decisions. Firing decisions, at least of teachers, were made on a highly subjective basis, and we know even less about how decisions were made about which support and custodial staffers to fire.

Fenty and Rhee are breaking the unions and breaking the will of the city council. They are doing this by persuading some gullible portion of the public that they actually have a good government motivation, and that they are continuing the goal of Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon Kelly, sweeping the government clean of poor workers. As you may remember, Mayor Marion Barry engaged in a deliberate policy of inflating the government workforce and making the government the employer of last resort, and, as a result, by the end of the 1980’s there were too many employees in the city government, many of them with no real job to do. When she ran for office, Kelly promised to clean out government, not with a broom but with a shovel. She may not have been very successful at that during her one term, but over the intervening decades, under Barry’s fourth term, under Mayor Williams, and under the governance of the Control Board, the government workforce was cut to a reasonable size.

Rhee, who posed with a broom on the cover of Time Magazine, recalls Kelly, and she uses the same rhetoric about teachers as Kelly used about government workers — they’re lazy, they’re worthless, we should get rid of them. What was once a good government movement — stop cheating the taxpayers by hiring redundant, unnecessary, and incompetent government workers — is now a movement simply to accumulate unilateral power in the hands of the mayor and his chancellor.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

###############

What Effrontery
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

The taxicab industry scandal involving his office may have caused Councilmember Jim Graham to drop one bill to force a medallion system on the city’s cabs, but it has not shamed him enough to cause him to drop the idea. Instead, he has scheduled a public oversight roundtable of his committee to promote the idea of the government’s setting an artificial limit on the number of workers in the cab industry. “The Impact of the Increasing Size of the District of Columbia’s Taxicab Industry on the Health of the Industry and the Quality of Service,” will be held on Monday, October 26, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 412 of the Wilson Building.

###############

Ximena Hartsock
Jonetta Rose Barras, rosebook1@aol.com

Some residents, the Washington Post editorial board, and DC Attorney General Peter Nickles want to blame the DC council’s decision not to confirm Ximena Hartsock to the permanent position of director of the Department of Parks and Recreation on racism, sexism, and any other “ism.” But they are ignoring the facts. The real culprit in Hartsock’s demise is Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and the nominee’s own naivete, direct subject-matter inexperience, and failure to adhere to legal and professional standards.

Read the whole article at The Barras Report, http://jrbarras.com./site/?p=787.

[Let me second that recommendation to read the whole article, especially if you’ve only read the press release dictated by Peter Nickles and published by Fenty’s public relations firm at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100603070.html. The administration’s line exploits some racist throwaway comments from Councilmember Barry at Hartsock’s confirmation hearing to smear the council’s disapproval of her nomination as a racist and sexist move. Instead, as Barras details, the council’s disapproval resulted from her deliberate defiance of two District laws and her refusal to provide the council with information about the firings at her agency. Barras has the facts of the case. — Gary Imhoff]

###############

Money and the Schools
Denise Wiktor, denisewiktor@yahoo.com

In August of 2007 it was announced that DCPS has received 42 million dollars in reimbursement for e-rate money from the federal government, representing five back years. (E-rate money is reimbursements from the federal government for expenditures by schools and libraries for certain technology, such as new computers, software, etc.). The company that did the work put out a press release, but promptly removed it at the complaint of OCTO. The money was to be distributed to DCPS in two years: 20 million dollars before FY 09 and 22 million in FY 09. This does not include e-rate reimbursements for the last couple of years. I understand that about 16 million of that was to be used to pay back bills from Verizon, but where is the rest of the money? In examining the 2009 budget for the schools and OCTO, it did not appear.

In addition, Rhee has successfully shifted many of the IT duties of the public schools to OCTO, with no transfer of funds; she has shifted legal counsel to the Office of the Attorney General, with no inter-agency transfer of funds; and the mayor has created a separate school construction division run by Alan Lew. So, in reality, the schools have less costs, fewer students, and the same money as three years ago. So why are teachers being laid off? As a parent of a DCPS child going to a school that was totally gutted and rebuilt and is in its second year after renovation, I have to wonder why there is no money to fix the showers that don’t work in the gym. The school is fabulous, but it is only one school. I have to agree with Chairman Gray that something is not adding up as far as the DCPS budget goes.

###############

More Teacher Layoffs, an Open Letter to Michelle Rhee
Marvin Tucker, mgtucker@hotmail.com

Mrs. Rhee, I understand you are letting more teachers go on or around October 15. As a parent, I know our school system can’t let any more teachers leave our schools. Our children can’t stand for this to happen to them to interrupt their education. As you know, I went to a number of football games on Friday to see if the students were safe. I found out the police did not do a good job; one site (Spingarn) had ten officers, at Eastern there were none, only an off-duty park police officer there to see his brothers’ team play. I don’t know why people are playing games with our children.

Let me give you some other reasons why we can trust the mayor’s staff and department heads: a) the personnel at Hawk One who worked at the schools will not get paid, but did not know this was coming. b) There was no security in place for Monday. c) The new company is asking the former officers of Hawk One to take a hiring test without giving them any information to study for it. Is this right? d) There is no contract in place for Bedford or Friendship. How are you paying them? e) There are thirty-one master teachers making about $90,000 dollars a year who were just brought on with less than one year in the class room. f) How can a husband and wife run Anacostia when run works for DCPS and the other works for Friendship? g) How can Anacostia let teachers go when they have four principals for about five hundred students, and they make more money than the teachers and the assistant principal who was let go. h) How many teachers have passed the test and have been licensed to teach in the school system?

Mrs. Rhee, I hope that you explain to parents and tax payers what is going on, I would like to know. The is so much more to this story; I look forward to hearing from you. Give me a call at 609-5256.

###############

Rhee
Ann Loikow, aloikow@verizon.net

I was appalled at not just Michelle Rhee’s abrupt firing of hundreds of DCPS employees, but the outrageous manner in which it was conducted. To send police officers in to escort them out as if they were criminals, instead of giving employees appropriate notice and time to clean out their offices or desks and say good-by to coworkers and prepare their classes for their departure is beyond the pale. Ms. Rhee obviously does not care about other human beings and was never taught how to show the most minimum modicum of courtesy and consideration for other people. If this is the way she was raised, I would not want her teaching or overseeing the teaching of our children. It is doubly outrageous that it is our government and our governmental officials whom we are paying that operate in this manner.

###############

Jim Graham and Calvin Woodland
Kathy Henderson, khenderson029@aol.com

I admire both Mr. Graham and Mr. Woodland for overcoming addictions and working as productive citizens. Mr. Graham advocates ferociously for Ward 1 citizens and gets a lion’s share of resources for his constituents. I have consistently observed Mr. Woodland faithfully execute his duties in a loyal and conscientious manner. Mr. Graham believed in Mr. Woodland and gave him a chance, underscoring and bolstering his status as a productive citizen. Jim Graham gave up alcohol and the voters of Ward 1 gave him a chance and he continues to be accountable to his constituents and truly concerned about his ward.

Their stories serve as a beacon of inspiration to anyone that has ever fallen on hard times or simply fallen down. I have nudged Councilmember Graham and Mr. Woodland for months to share their excellent story of renewed hope and redemption to my neighbors in Ward 5. It is no secret that substance abuse is a burden that continues to plague my community with dysfunction and episodic violence, despite the high number of law-abiding productive citizens living in the Langston Terrace, Carver Terrace, and Trinidad communities. Mr. Graham agreed to attend the ANC 5B10 September 28, community meeting to share his powerful story, however, my illness necessitated rescheduling this meeting. I sure hope I can persuade him to set another date and bring Mr. Woodland with him.

Finally, the recidivism rate among ex-offenders in this city is well over fifty percent, according to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. By all accounts, Mr. Woodland has put his volatile past well behind him and is a law-abiding citizen. I think there is tremendous value in hearing from him how he has overcome so many burdens to lead a better life; this is far more useful than simply reprinting his prior criminal history.

###############

Smoke-Alarm Battery Exchange, until October 11
Rachel Machacek, rachel@acehardwaredc.com

Local Ace Hardware stores are giving away 9-volt batteries in exchange for old ones during Fire Prevention Week (October 5-11). The exchange is free and no purchase is required.

Participating stores in DC are Logan Hardware, 1416 P Street, NW; Glover Park Hardware, 2251 Wisconsin Avenue, NW; Tenleytown Ace Hardware, 4500 Wisconsin Avenue, NW; and 5th Street Ace Hardware, 1055 5th Street, NW. Visit acehardwaredc.com for more details.

###############

CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Department of Parks and Recreation Events, October 11
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov

October 11, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., DPR Headquarters, 3149 16th Street, NW. DC Hispanic Heritage Sports and Health Festival. The Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs (OLA) in collaboration with the DC Department of Parks and Recreation will host the first DC Hispanic Heritage Sports and Health Festival, as a part of Binational Health Week. The goal of this free event is to reach out to the Hispanic community regarding health and wellness issues. La Clinical Del Pueblo, along with other health care organizations, will be providing free health screenings. Free sports clinics for youth kickball, soccer, and basketball. The Latin American Youth Center will offer free youth tennis clinics as well. For more information call Kathy Zarate, DPR Partnerships Coordinator at 258-6021.

###############

Underground Buildings, October 15
Sara Kabakoff, skabakoff@nbm.org

October 15, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Building for the 21st Century: Conserving Energy by Using the Earth Itself. Loretta Hall, author of Underground Buildings: More than Meets the Eye and a certified green building technical professional, uses modern examples to show that earth-sheltered buildings are comfortable, spacious, and surprisingly common. Registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square Metro station. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.

###############

CLASSIFIEDS — DONATIONS

AARP DC Community Food Drive, October 22
Grier Mendel, gmendel@aarp.org

Please participate in the AARP DC Community Food Drive on Thursday, October 22, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., and help us feed hungry Washingtonians. Area food pantries, and the families who rely on them, are asking for our help. At a time of desperate need, contributions are down and demand is going through the roof. According to the Capital Area Food Bank, half of DC’s children under age eighteen are at risk of hunger, and a third of seniors are at risk or suffering from hunger. With your generous donation, we can do much to help the Capital Area Food Bank shore up its supply of nonperishable food items, and better meet the needs of struggling families and the food pantries that service them. AARP DC has set up food drop-off points across the city, at one Safeway or Giant store in each of the eight wards. Visit http://www.aarp.org/dc or call 434-7722 for the site nearest you and for a list of high priority food items. No glass containers please! This food drive is a critical part of AARP’s effort to Create the Good. Find out more at http://www.createthegood.org

###############

themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every Wednesday and Sunday. To change the E-mail address for your subscription to themail, use the Update Profile/Email address link below in the E-mail edition. To unsubscribe, use the Safe Unsubscribe link in the E-mail edition. An archive of all past issues is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.

All postings should be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com, and should be about life, government, or politics in the District of Columbia in one way or another. All postings must be signed in order to be printed, and messages should be reasonably short — one or two brief paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many messages as possible can be put into each mailing.

 


Send mail with questions or comments to webmaster@dcwatch.com
Web site copyright ©DCWatch (ISSN 1546-4296)