WRITTEN STATEMENT OF MARY FILARDO, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 21ST CENTURY SCHOOL FUND, WASHINGTON DC BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR ON APRIL 28, 2021

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I will address the following three questions in my written testimony:

1. Does our country need a federal program that invests in rebuilding our elementary and secondary public school buildings and grounds?

2. Is the Reopen and Rebuild America’s School Act (RRASA) the right federal program to address these issues?

3. Does the Reopen and Rebuild America’s School Act belong in a major infrastructure package with roads, highways, and bridges and other major public works sectors?

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First things first — DC officials must address structural underfunding of DCPS→

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The way the city funds our schools structurally underfunds educational operations for DC Public Schools (DCPS) relative to the charter sector to the tune of $40 million to $50 million a year.

That claim may surprise you because the DC charter sector — which has accumulated $500 million in net assets that grow by $40 million or $50 million a year and is consistently deemed by national charter advocates to enjoy among the most hospitable regulatory environments in the nation — ceaselessly claims to be a victim. The opposite is true.

Matthew Frumin is a DC attorney, former advisory neighborhood commissioner and community activist.

Rather than addressing this issue, the deputy mayor for education has been exploring changes to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF) — the primary vehicle for funding schools — and DCPS has been looking into how it distributes funds among its schools. As the mayor formulates her budget though, her first move should be to address the structural underfunding of DCPS operations.

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Education advocates: Mayor must address the digital divide in upcoming budget proposal

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The pandemic has highlighted the need to provide equitable technology access for all students as part of a 21st-century education. While DC made some progress last year in expanding computer and internet access, the city still lacks a multi-year plan and dedicated funding source to ensure that students and families have long-term access to technology and high-speed internet.

On Jan. 11 a coalition of parents, educators and other education advocates, organized by Digital Equity in DC Education, sent a version of the letter below urging Mayor Muriel Bowser to follow through on her Empowered Learners Initiative’s commitment to provide a 1:1 student-to-device ratio and technology supports for DC Public Schools.

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SHAPPE's Position on DCPS Reopening for Term 2

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Dear Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Kihn, and Chancellor Ferebee,

The Senior High Alliance of Parents Principals and Educators is 22 years old. We consider ourselves partners looking for constructive solutions so that a strong DCPS can thrive. It is our hope that you will reconsider and amend the current plan. We believe that you can prevent the significant loss of supports and infrastructure to the secondary school students that it will cause and engage elementary school students. We are writing here about the educational program, the building checklist and health supports have to be in place for any plan. We want to work with you on a strong educational program to reopen we can all endorse.

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A More Equitable Way to Fund Schools Building Maintenance and Operations Costs

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The way we fund school building maintenance and operations (M&O) structurally disadvantages DCPS. It requires DCPS to spend more – to the tune of $558 per student (or $28.6 million a year overall) -- from their funds, which are needed to serve students, than the charter Local Education Agencies overall spend of their funds.

The Council should address this structural unfairness in the budget for FY21. It can do so by moving to pay DCPS utility expense (around $23.7 million a year) outside of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (PSFF)

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Adjusting DCPS Enrollment Projection to Account for Mid-Year Transfers

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The way we fund enrollment in our LEAs structurally disadvantages DCPS, failing to fund it to serve the thousands of students who come through its doors midyear while generously allowing the charter sector to retain funds for the approximately 1,350 plus students who leave their schools midyear. The net effect is to provide the charter sector with at least a $20 million advantage relative to DCPS in terms of enrollment based funding each year.

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Mary Levy and Eboni Rose Thompson respond to Post Op Ed

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It has been said, “statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” This perfectly describes the OpED Poor children are still left behind in DCPS schools” (December 8, 2019).  The authors suggest charters are winning the battle of closing the achievement gap for our children. What it conceals is significant omissions, exaggerations, and factual errors.

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Letter to the Editor by C4DC Member Venola M Rolle

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Ward 7 Education Council Member Venola Rolle commenting on the opening and closing of charter schools: “I am not a fan of charter schools by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that, if we have to endure them in the District, they ought to be of the order of this one Monument Academy— created to serve students the traditional public schools are unable to serve effectively. “

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