Studies
Dear Students:
The National Research Council’s Committee on the Independent
Evaluation of DC Public Schools released its report on March 4. The
press release is at http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/110304.htm;
a copy of the complete prepublication report can be downloaded for
individual use from http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13114.html
It’s couched in all the academic niceties, and its main conclusion is
that more study is needed before the committee can reach a definite
conclusion, but as of now there’s no evidence to prove that moving to
mayoral control of the school system is responsible for any improvements
in the school system.
There is solid evidence about the school system, though, and Mary
Levy presents it in her message below. She had a lot of news about the
staffing and budget of DC Public Schools. She shared it with the city
council in her testimony to it on Friday, and she shares it with us
below.
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Richard Layman presents below an argument that we’ve heard before
— that the city council’s high salaries are justified by its unusual
responsibilities and duties, since the District of Columbia functions as
a city, a county, and a state. I’ve heard it before, and I’ve never
bought it. Does the city council pass separate legislation and keep
different code books for the city of the District of Columbia, the
county of the District of Columbia, and the state of the District of
Columbia? Does the council provide separate oversight for the
departments and agencies in each of the three jurisdictions? Does it
have different budgets covering the state, county, and city? No, the
city council does what any city council does, no more. If you can show
me that it has a greater work burden, please do so.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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I have completed my work at the Chief Financial Officer’s office,
so I am now free to say what I think. I testified before the city
council on Friday about my findings on the DC Public Schools. My
findings include:
1) Central administration employees rose by 112, or 18 percent,
during Rhee’s tenure, while enrollment went down by 6,600, or 12
percent. Since FY 2003, central office FTEs are up 38 percent while
enrollment went down by 28 percent. 2) As of last October 1, about one
hundred of the central office staff have salaries of over $100,000 per
year. 3) Per student spending went up 28 percent during Rhee’s tenure,
compared to inflation of 6 percent, leading to the possibility that
better student/staff ratios, smaller classes and other resources were
responsible for the modest improvements that did occur. Unfortunately,
the level of spending — which is very high compared to other school
districts — can’t be sustained. 4) DCPS is now losing half its
teacher workforce within five years, and half its new hires within two
years. 5) The percentage of inexperienced (first and second year)
teachers has risen to almost 20 percent. 6) Beginning teachers (first
and second year) are 25 percent of the teachers in three wards with
mostly low-income students (1, 5, and 8). 6) A lot of basic budget and
expenditure information is not available to the public — such as
financial reports and current budgets for both the system and local
schools.
My complete testimony is at http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/110304b.htm
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The DC Council and Walmart
Richard Layman, rclaymandc@yahoo.com
Not wanting to defend DC council, but. . . . The city council in DC,
because DC is more akin to a unitary government with “state,” “county,”
and “local” responsibilities, has greater responsibilities as a
legislature than a typical city council, even for large cities. While
certain large cities such as San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York
City (comprised of five boroughs) also function as counties, even those
governmental bodies have fewer responsibilities than does the equivalent
body in DC.
Therefore, it is not unreasonable for the city councilmembers to be
paid more, have bigger staffs. and for committees to be staffed with
able people. And yes, “program” staffers are white collar workers
who tend as a rule to have higher salaries than support staff. That
being said, I agree that the real question is the quality of the work we
are receiving from the city council and whether or not we are getting
the right value for what we are paying.
I would rather than DC city council set as a reference group the best
performing legislatures in the US, and work to function at a
best-in-class level, where they research issues rather than just have
knee jerk responses to whatever crosses their desks, issue reports,
regularly survey citizens not just recount random complaints, etc. The
Walmart issue is a perfectly good example of failures within how our
government is set up. With one or two exceptions, the councilmembers
have jumped fully onto the Walmart bandwagon, even though development
proposals for at least two of the four sites are particularly marginal
and unsupportive of long term commercial revitalization objectives.
The process around Walmart’s entry shows that there are significant
weaknesses in our planning regime and zoning codes. For example, why
doesn’t DC have a “big box review” ordinance/section of the zoning
code, comparable to the Large Tract Review process, so that broader
impacts on the local economy can be mitigated and assessed. But we hear
very little from city council on these and other issues (or by the
Executive Branch, which seems to be studiously ignoring the very short
term nature of the development plans for Walmart sites, even though the
company looks to be signing seventy-five year leases). To my knowledge,
only Councilmember Bowser has issued a press release that lays out some
preferred outcomes, while acknowledging that DC zoning regulations
provide little opportunity to exact concessions and better outcomes.
Meanwhile, the New York City Council is holding hearings on Walmart’s
possible entry into the city, and the New York City Public Advocate’s
Office, in conjunction with Hunter College, produced a well-researched
report evaluating the broader and economic impact of Walmart’s entry
into the city, acknowledging some potential benefits but also outlining
real costs.
At virtually every opportunity, elected and appointed officials as
well as residents tout that we are a “world class” city due to the
fact that this is the national capital of the US, and the US is still a
dominant force in the world’s political economy and the global
economy. But saying it, doesn’t make it so. To make it so, we must
demand more of ourselves, our neighborhoods, our community and citywide
organizations, our elected and appointed officials, and again, we must
demand more of ourselves when we are voting, being sure to elect people
who take their responsibilities to the electorate seriously and
judiciously. Until then, with all due respect, maybe the city should be
setting as a comparison group not the leading cities in the nation, but
the lesser functioning communities, because we are in fact, a lesser
functioning community, whether or not the city is a world city and may
not be world class.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Celebration of Abstinence Awareness Week,
March 7-12
Richard Urban, richardurban@ultrateenchoice.org
Did you know that 7.1 percent of black men and 3.2 percent of all
adults in Washington, DC, have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS? The sixth
annual Celebration of Abstinence Awareness Week in Washington, DC, is
March 6 to March 12. Please support the following events and the essay
contest.
Monday, March 7, 5:30 p.m., program at 6:00 p.m. Forum: “Sex: What
They Don’t Tell You. Why Wait for Marriage?” Youth and adult panels,
author Tara White, entertainment and reception (food served). Mt. Bethel
Baptist Church, 75 Rhode Island Avenue, NW (1st Street, NW, and Rhode
Island Avenue, NW). Enter at ramp on Rhode Island Avenue. Free
Admission.
Thursday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. DC Council At-Large Candidates forum.
1330 7th Street, NW, Building (near the Convention Center) Community
Room. Focusing on HIV prevention including sexual abstinence, youth and
family health, including encouraging both the mother and father to rear
children within a family (i.e., marriage).
All Month: essay contest for high school youth $500 first prize, $300
second prize, $150 third prize. Go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ULTRATeenChoice/75887c3546/0fae741c01/8df5681a0e
for more information. To see the press release and more information on
all events, go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ULTRATeenChoice/75887c3546/0fae741c01/6f8a9b30b1
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WNDC Programs, March 11, 14, 15
Tonya Butler-Truesdale, gotonyago@gmail.com
Cinema night returns to the Woman’s National Democratic Club, 1526
New Hampshire Avenue, NW, on Friday, March 11, at 6:00 p.m., with the
film screening at 7:00 p.m. The film will be the Social Network, winner
of this year’s Golden Globes for best motion picture, drama, and Oscar
nominee for best picture. The Social Network is about founding the
world-famous web site, Facebook. In 2003, at his Harvard dorm room,
computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg worked on a new idea that
became a revolution in communication worldwide. Six years, five hundred
million friends, and seventy languages later, Zuckerberg is now the
youngest billionaire in history. In 2010, he was Time Magazine’s
Person of the Year. The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday gave The
Social Network five stars! The film is $5 at the door. Screening is at
7:00 p.m., and a cash bar and small bites menu is available at 6:00 p.m.
Reservations are required at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=21438
On Monday, March 14, there will be an evening reception and lecture
by Robert Glenn Ketchum, “Save Bristol Bay — No Pebble Mine.” For
forty-five years Robert Glenn Ketchum’s imagery and books have helped
define contemporary color photography while at the same time addressing
critical environmental Issues. In 2010, American Photo magazine
featured Robert Glenn Ketchum as the fifth in their series of American
master photographers, including him with such luminaries as Henri
Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon. Ketchum is a founding fellow of the
International League of Conservation Photographers. Ketchum’s
distinctive prints are in numerous major museum collections, including
the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), the National Museum of American Art
(DC), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Museum of
Modern Art (NY), to name a few.
Ketchum’s work in the Tongass rainforest of Alaska is one of his
most visible successes and has been acknowledged as helping to pass the
most significant timber reform legislation in American history. Ketchum
has been working since 1998 to protect Bristol Bay, the most productive
wild salmon fishery in North America. Bristol Bay and the habitat that
supports it, is located in southwest Alaska. Recognizing his effort,
Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar gave Ketchum the “Partners in
Conservation Award” in 2010. The threat to Bristol Bay is the largest
proposed open-pit copper and cyanide gold-leach mine in the world.
Called “The Pebble,” the mine would be situated in the headwaters of
the fishery, between two national parks, three national wildlife
refuges, and four state designated parks. The reception begins at 6:30
p.m. and the lecture at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10. Register at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=21255
The third annual women’s history month empowering women program on
March 15 at the Woman’s National Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire
Avenue, NW, begins at 9:30 a.m., with the WNDC’s Women’s History
Month exhibition of works by Washington women artists and a reception to
meet the artists on the second floor. At 10:30 a.m., there will be a
panel discussion on empowering women with panelists Eleanor Smeal,
Feminist Majority Foundation; Rosemary Segero, Hope for Tomorrow;
Marilyn Sephocle, Women Ambassadors Foundation; and moderator: Faye
Barnes, Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide President.
At 12:15 p.m., there will be an optional lunch. Admission to the
reception and panel discussion is $15; the lunch is $15. Register for
this event at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=21306
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Smart Meter Education Workshop, March 16
Herbert H. Jones, III, info@opc-dc.gov
The DC Office of the People’s Counsel and Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 3C present a Smart Meter education workshop on Wednesday,
March 16, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at MPD Second District Station, 3320
Idaho Avenue, NW, Community Room. Consumers will learn what to do to
prepare for the meter exchange, how to alert PEPCO that someone in your
home has special medical needs, the steps of the meter installation
process, and about proposed features and benefits. For additional
information, contact OPC at 727-3071 or see Event Flyer.
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National Building Museum Construction Watch
Tour of Janney School, March 19
Stacy Adamson, sadamson@nbm.org
March 19, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Construction Watch Tour: Janney
Elementary School. The Janney Elementary School in northwest Washington,
DC, includes the modernization of a 42,000-square-foot National Historic
Landmark and a new 41,000-square-foot addition that will increase
student capacity from 450 to 525, including art, music, and science
classrooms; a multi-purpose/physical education space; and a
media/computer lab center. Barbara G. Laurie, AIA, NOMA, project manager
with Devrouax + Purnell Architects, leads a tour of the project which is
designed to meet LEED for Schools guidelines. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
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