Coalition for DC Public Schools and Communities (C4DC) June 25, 2026

Dear CM Lewis George, 

Congratulations on your recent victory as the Democratic Mayoral nominee in DC.  We are excited to continue our work with you as a Council Member and head of the Facilities Committee and we look forward to your potential stewardship of the city’s schools next year.  We appreciate and support your focus on equity and on education.  To that end we ask for your support in maintaining the Winston Education Center (EC) site for DCPS going forward. 

DC should maintain the current inventory of DCPS buildings in DCPS including the Ward 7, Winston EC.  This is necessary to allow for the planning to fulfill the goals and the vision currently in place for the publicly managed public school system in Washington DC.  The value of maintaining a publicly run DCPS system of schools has been stated in 2014 and confirmed in 2024 as part of the Student Assignment Boundary Review.  [1]

The Winston EC, which closed in 2014 is listed as one of the 127 DCPS facilities[2] in 2022 retained by DCPS as operating schools , swing space or for other uses.  In the 2024 MEP, it is identified as under the control of DGS, thus available to DCPS to assign a use after a transfer back to the DCPS inventory.   To facilitate this:

We Need an Education Plan :  There has not been a current full Master Education Plan for DCPS for decades since All Students Succeeding (2006).  The Capital Commitment supports the values of equity of opportunity and families being connected to schools but stops short of describing a full plan to achieve these goals.  Ward 7 students travel the farthest to school, on average 1.7 miles and have access to fewer rigorous programs. These equity issues can be addressed as we welcome a new administration coming in next year.  An Education Plan can address a range of issues including arts and science programming, special education, early childhood education, career and technical programming, global education programming, as well as technology uses (AI and Screen use), and access to fully resourced, close by- right DCPS public schools. 

The Ward 7 Education Council and long-standing Ward 7 stakeholders have been clear that Winston EC should be included in the DCPS inventory as a planned middle school for Ward 7 because of the need for an academically demanding middle school with diverse programming. There have been recent proposals for Winston to fulfill programming needs for CTE as well as the desire for dual language at the middle school level.  [3]

The proposals from the DCPS school boundary planning process of 2013 were fulfilled for Ward 4 and Ward 1. There are improved middle school options for the Roosevelt and Coolidge feeder patterns—with reopening and modernizing MacFarland MS and creating Ida B. Wells MS. The Ward 1 request for an additional middle school is being met with the Euclid St middle school to feed into Cardozo.  Left unaddressed was the Ward 7 recommendation for additional middle school options in DCPS for Woodson HS. The ability to do that by maintaining Winston in its inventory is crucial. 

Winston EC needs a DCPS Facility Plan:  Winston is a major piece of infrastructure that is unlikely to be affordable to future use without D.C. funding, if it is to be a healthy and safe environment for children and staff.

Winston EC is a 137,000 GSF school built in 1976—not a good year for school design or construction. It was designed and built during and after the 1973 oil crisis, leading the architects to omit windows to save on energy costs. Additionally, in the 1960s, Ward 7 experienced tremendous growth in its child and overall populations, so open-plan school design was promoted to increase school enrollment capacity. Windowless-Winston was designed with a design capacity for 1190 students. The design included 8 grade-level sections on each of two wings on each floor. There were no walls separating the 8 grade-level sections. In a 1995 survey of facility conditions, Winston EC was already rated in poor condition.  It had a reputation among teachers as a toxic building. 

Winston EC closed in 2014 and has now been vacant for a decade. It suffered a fire in 2020 and will need to be replaced or fully modernized before it is a healthy or safe place for children and staff. As a large vacant property, it is also not a safe place in the community. The problems at Winston EC are not unique.  D.C. has demolished many of its 1970s open-plan, windowless schools: among these are Dunbar HS, Bruce Monroe EC (now a public park), Gage-Eckington EC (now a park), West EC (now John Lewis ES), Shaw JHS (now Banneker HS), and H.D. Woodson HS (rebuilt as H.D. Woodson HS).

The city should fulfill its responsibility to the Ward 7 community with necessary planning and funding at the Winston site as it has with other open plan schools. The site needs to be secured and a feasibility study for future use initiated. 

Responsible Funding: DCPS schools are modernized through their inclusion in the District’s 6- year Capital Plan.  This is a public process.  DCPS uses the PACE Act and public hearings to set priorities.  After decades of neglect, since 2002 a majority of the DCPS buildings have been modernized.   With fewer resources anticipated, the capital budget for DCPS for 2031 is $177,871,000. However, funds for schools can be identified and prioritized by the city as we saw with the purchase and modernization of John Thompson HS which was fast tracked. 

Charter schools are modernized through revenue bonds repaid by the Public Charter School Facilities Allowance.  Overall, they do not use private funding for buildings. These per student funds are operating dollars and currently awarded regardless of need in order to cover facilities costs. DC charter schools are requesting that the compounded escalation of 3.1% per year through FY31 be kept in place. (That was not the recommendation of the Mayor this year.)  If the number of nonresidential students remains stable at 47,657, the facilities allowance cost to the city in FY31 would then be $213,716,863 or $4,484.48 per student.  As happened with the closure of Eagle Academy in the McGogney building, the debt secured with the promise of city funding, can come back onto the city ledger.  Expanding the charter enrollment and inventory with this funding structure is potentially more expensive for the city. Charter schools are not in fact better positioned to fund a modernization.[4] .

Winston is adjacent to the Hillcrest Recreation Center, a terrific location for a DCPS school.  Feeder rights and geographic rights can be extended to elementary schools in the area. Winston needs to be maintained in the DCPS inventory for it to be planned as a DCPS school in Ward 7 with strong programming. 

Sincerely,

Cathy Reilly on behalf of C4DC

Dr. Marla Dean on behalf of the Ward 7 Education Council

[1] We believe that all families in Washington, DC are entitled to a high-quality, by-right DCPS school located within a reasonable distance from their home that offers the fundamental and inclusive programming necessary to ensure students are well-educated and supported. We believe that vibrant

neighborhood schools contribute to healthy communities and neighborhood life. https://dcgov.app.box.com/v/2023dcboundaryreport page 10

[2]https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/2022%20MFP%20Annual%20Supplement_%20FINAL.pdf

[3] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nxPf4e2XWmqckfVxcHbfOsgQ72oxEnVlfeI05uGRA08/edit?usp=sharing

[4] https://dcgov.app.box.com/v/DMEDualLangStudy page 28 “Finally,

there are some modernization funding opportunities available to public charter schools that can

help finance the modernization during tight fiscal times.”

 Dear CM Lewis George,

Congratulations on your recent victory as the Democratic Mayoral nominee in DC.  We are excited to continue our work with you as a Council Member and head of the Facilities Committee and we look forward to your potential stewardship of the city’s schools next year.  We appreciate and support your focus on equity and on education.  To that end we ask for your support in maintaining the Winston Education Center (EC) site for DCPS going forward. 

October 3, 2024

Dear Council Chair Mendelson ( also sent individually to every Council Member from DCpubliceducation)

We request that the Council hold a hearing quickly to fully understand all of the circumstances that led to the LEA Eagle Academy’s decision to close two public schools in late August, on the cusp of the 2024-2025 school year.  As a result of this decision, the parents of 350 children were given just a few days to find new schools for their children, and dozens of educators were suddenly left without positions. As one Ward 8 school employee noted: “Instead of putting the money into the schools that are already there and really need it, money is poured into new school developments... And then we must pick up pieces when things don’t work out.”  School takeovers, as indicated by the PCSB in their deliberations are not necessarily an answer, and the deeper underlying issues need to be investigated.     

The Committee of the Whole has legislative and budget oversight over the education sector.  This includes DCPS as well as the Public Charter School Board and the charter sector. The charter sector is funded by our tax dollars and operates over 134 schools.  They are the beneficiaries of $1.35 billion a year in D.C general funds. They have amassed $1 billion in revenue bond debt, which is secured by an annual facility allowance from the D.C. general fund which was $183 million in FY25.   Collectively, they educate almost half of the children in the public system.  

DC parents and families have students in both sectors and expect you at the Council to ensure stability and quality equally in any school they choose to send their children to. Eagle Academy families, indeed all charter families, deserve the same level of investigation and oversight as DCPS families.  While the PCSB has prized autonomy and takes pride in their identity as public schools, this autonomy has to come with responsible oversight by our elected officials. In exchange for the authority to experiment with new education models, these schools must be subject to the same rigorous oversight and democratic governance as all other schools.  A letter from the Council chair asking for an explanation does not meet the bar of good government in the case of a failing this large to families of public school children.

If Council does not schedule a hearing on the Eagle Academy closure, and the failures it has highlighted, they replicate the very lack of public monitoring which created the problem in the first place. A hearing should explore exactly what factors led to the closure of this public LEA. The former CEO/CFO and former accounting firm should be invited to share their understanding of the underlying issues that led to the school’s closure.  This hearing would also invite the public to discuss what the DC education system must do moving forward to protect other students, families, and educators. The PCSB followed their internal protocols; this failure indicates that there are deeper problems to be investigated.   

The closure of two public schools in late August deserves a public and transparent process to better understand all of the issues that led to this outcome.    At a minimum it should address: 

• The circumstances that led to the LEA Eagle Academy’s decision to close two public schools - what is the timeline and the history of the financial difficulties of Eagle Academy.   

• Did the system have the educational capacity to adequately serve these families, and have the schools they enrolled in been appropriately resourced?

• Stronger measures in place for the DC Public Charter School Board to ensure greater accountability. 

• The plans in place for the McGogney building previously occupied by Eagle Academy Public Charter School and owned by DC.

• Who is responsible for the $22 million dollar revenue bond against the school? 

What changes should be considered in response to what is learned?   The Council has a hearing on the DCPS budgeting and contracting processes scheduled for October.  Surely, it is your fiscal and ethical responsibility to grant to charter school families the same level of care and oversight this fall.  

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you on this.  

Sincerely, 

Eboni-Rose Thompson SBOE Ward 7 SBOE Representative, President

Jacque Patterson – SBOE At Large Representative, Vice President

Benjamin Williams SBOE Ward 1 Representative

Allister Chang, SBOE Ward 2 Representative

Frazier O’Leary, SBOE Ward 4 Representative

Robert Henderson, SBOE Ward 5 Representative

Carlene Reid, SBOE Ward 8 Representative

Representatives from the following:

Ward 2 Education Council (W2EC)
Ward 4 Education Alliance
Ward 5 Education Equity Committee
Ward 6 Public Schools Parent Organization (W6PSPO)
Ward 7 Education Council
Ward 8 Education Council  
21st Century School Fund
CARE Anacostia
CARE Brookland
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
DC LSAT Collective
Decoding Dyslexia DC
Empower Ed
Senior High Alliance of Parents Principals and Educators (S.H.A.P.P.E.)
Teaching for Change
Washington Teachers' Union
Education Town Hall
WE ACT RADIO
Educationdc.net

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

See July 23rd Dr. Ferebee respons below this letter

July 12, 2024

Dear Dr. Ferebee and DME Kihn,

At C4DC our main focus is excellent and equitable District of Columbia Public Schools.  We are committed to this, DCPS is our public education institution of right. We are writing because we are concerned about the way decisions are made on DCPS swing space, and recommend that a clear and equitable process be put in place before final decisions are made for upcoming renovations.
As shown by the planned takeover of the field of Nalle for 7 years without engaging or communicating with that school community, as well as forcing Amidon-Bowen students to commute 3.4 miles one way (40 minutes by public transit) from their school during its FY27 renovation, there is not a clear and equitable process that involves communities from the beginning and sees them as partners.

 Although DCPS is now looking at more options and meeting with the Nalle community, all DCPS schools need much greater transparency and a new level of planning and engagement immediately. The Beers community has not been engaged concerning their proposed plan to be located on the Nalle field. 

 Right now, the DCPS facilities process is not set up to adequately and automatically ENGAGE with local school families, neighbors and other entities within DCPS that would be or already are in regular contact with school leaders and communities.  Engaging is fundamentally different than communicating and informing, which are important but not sufficient. Without engagement school communities are disenfranchised and disempowered. Not only does Nalle need to be made whole, but so does Amidon-Bowen: the far-away Meyer swing space for Amidon will weaken that community, driving local families toward other schools easier to access and undermining the hard-won progress of recent years in building a tight-knit, diverse community there.

 All of this speaks to a major failure in organization and management, with many decisions made in a silo and breeding inequity. In all of these cases, other DCPS offices were not involved (as they should have been) and the public was not engaged in a timely manner with clarity.  The lack of engagement and regard leaves DCPS families rightfully frustrated, disrespected and angry, undermining trust in their civil servants. Even with the requirement for a SIT (School Improvement Team), they are convened too late and do not include any discussion of swing space, ed specs for swing space, or MOA for shared space.  

We recommend the swing space issue be addressed system wide by:

—Expanding it. Mayoral control should open up more possibilities. For instance, other schools are accessing DPR space (Whittier) or even working with charters to share space. (There is an agreement with DC Prep to lease space).
—Involving all parts of DCPS offices that deal directly with schools in discussions of their renovations with their communities.
—Using the strength of being a system. Work with and support each school’s unique needs. Involve the neighborhoods, and all resources.  Each school should not have to take on the issue of swing space in isolation.
--SIT teams for ALL schools in the capital plan should be convened NOW so that discussions on swing space start early.
– A citywide group can be convened as well on this subject, so lessons learned and resources tapped in one community can be shared with all. We at C4DC can help you connect with ward education councils as well as expanded individual school communities.

Here is a resource that outlines the need as well as a process for engagement: https://www.21csf.org/uploads/pub/2_forgenerationstocome.pdf We look forward to engaging with you and improving this process.

 Thank you.

 Ward 2 Education Council (W2EC)
Ward 3 Wilson Feeder Education Network
Ward 4 Education Alliance
Ward 5 Education Equity Committee
Ward 6 Public Schools Parent Organization (W6PSPO)
Ward 7 Education Council
Ward 8 Education Council 
Senior High Alliance of Parents Principals and Educators (S.H.A.P.P.E.)
Washington Teachers' Union
CARE Anacostia
CARE Brookland
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
DC LSAT Collective
Decoding Dyslexia DC
Educationdc.net
Education Town Hall
WE ACT RADIO 
21st Century School Fund
Teaching for Change

Cc: Patrick Ashley
Drewana Bey
Chyanne Eyde
Jennifer Comey
Abraham Clayman

 Response from Dr Ferebee to July 12th letter on July 23rd

District of Columbia Public Schools
July 23rd, 2024

Members of the Coalition for DC Public Schools and Communities,

Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of the district’s students. The mission of DC Public Schools (DCPS) is to ensure that every school guarantees that students reach their full potential through rigorous and joyful learning experiences provided in a nurturing environment. Through the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP), DCPS creates an opportunity for all students to learn in a healthy, equitable, and inspiring learning environment.

I have heard from the Nalle Elementary School community that they were not adequately notified or engaged in advance of the campus’ upcoming field construction and modernization. We apologized to the community for the lack of communication and have been actively working to improve the situation and the school’s access to recreational space.

In the future, DCPS commits to more effectively sharing information about swing space options prior to the selection of a finalized swing space, recognizing options are often limited. Currently, DCPS is evaluating ways to improve engagement and communication. School communities have clearly shared that more information and discussion is warranted, and we expect to release an updated approach to swing space selection, engagement, and communication during the 2024 – 2025 school year. That timeline will allow DCPS time to appropriately engage communities and to incorporate the new approach into our planning process for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 – 2031 CIP. I am happy to share that plan with you during the upcoming school year. I appreciate your suggestions and welcome your engagement in improving this process for school communities.

With respect to Amidon-Bowen Elementary School and Beers Elementary School, finalized swing space locations for both schools have not been set. Finalized swing plans are provided alongside the CIP announcement during the spring before the community-facing design year. This means that school communities will learn about finalized swing space plans approximately 18 months before construction begins. For Amidon-Bowen, this would be spring 2026. For Beers Elementary School, this would be spring 2028. Before this point, swing plans are tentative and can change due to significant modifications in student enrollment or additional projects being added to the modernization queue.

Currently, DCPS considers several factors when creating a CIP project proposal that identifies project scope and a potential swing sequence plan. These factors include:

• Availability of existing swing buildings: Swing space is based on what is available and currently existing in DCPS’s facility portfolio at the time that can meet the school, programmatic, and population needs. If DCPS determines a new swing space or modular campus is required, there must be a universal benefit for multiple schools within the CIP to justify the costs. Notwithstanding their limitations, modular campuses are a significant investment of funds, and due to total construction costs, DCPS prefers to use modulars for at least 6 years, or for 3 or more schools, once constructed. 1200 First Street, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | T 202.442.5885 | F 202.442.5026 | dcps.dc.gov

• Distance: DCPS makes every effort to minimize the distance between a school’s home address and swing site in response to community concerns around busing time and distance, ideally keeping schools in their home Ward when possible. • Size and Enrollment: DCPS works to ensure that sizes of swing sites can accommodate the student enrollments of the schools they will be hosting during the years of swing, per building capacity counts and program analysis. DCPS also conducts an in-depth data analysis of historical, current, and projected enrollment trends to understand the school’s program including the number of class sections per grade band, special education programs, and DCPS enrichment academic programs. • Programmatic needs: DCPS assesses programs that can be accommodated at swing buildings, matching programs to an appropriate facility where possible, and allocating centralized swing funding where necessary.

• Full utilization of the swing space portfolio: DCPS’s goal is to never leave swing sites unoccupied for more than 6 months to a year, as unoccupied buildings quickly fall into disrepair. Thus, DCPS’s swing plan attempts to keep swing sites regularly active without gaps. When modular campuses reach the end of their useful life cycle, typically 6-8 years after initial installment, these campuses are typically taken offline. This gives DCPS the consideration to establish a new modular site to service school communities in a different part of the district.

Additional information about DCPS’ approach to swing spaces can be found at DCPS’s facilities website at https://sites.google.com/dc.gov/dcps-facilities/resources-faqs. Thank you again for your continued advocacy and I look forward to working collaboratively with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Lewis D. Ferebee, Ed.D. Chancellor District of Columbia Public Schools

C4DC Statement on PCSB request for Additional Funds for Charter Teacher Pay

April 25, 2023

This statement follows up on our letter in January (copied below) regarding the request by charter schools for additional funds as a result of the WTU contract.  (also see this letter from PCSB Executive Director forwarded from Council)

 Charter school families and staff have been told that the Mayor’s budget underfunds charter schools by 187 million dollars.  There is no breakdown for this figure nor is there public information on each charter to validate it.   The issue of teacher pay and retention in the charter sector is important, as it is with DC Public Schools.  However, we feel the families and staff have been misinformed by the Charter School Alliance with the claim that charter schools have been underfunded for this large amount.  

 Charter school communities have been asked to advocate directly to the Council to address this wrong.  Given the structure of DC’s governance with regards to charter schools and the education sector as a whole, a more apt ask would have been for educators, students, parents, and other stakeholders of our local charters to approach the governing board of their own charter school or LEA to find out the process and basis for teacher pay and their school’s budget. DCPS teachers negotiated with their LEA leadership on pay and working conditions.  Trying to apply a full retroactive pay increase to charter teachers based on a negotiated contract between the WTU and DCPS sets a problematic precedent as a way to address equity. The two sectors are not equal.  They have different responsibilities. DCPS serves all comers in their neighborhood schools. There is no equity within the charter sector on teacher compensation.  Some LEA’s awarded raises and have higher pay, others have much lower pay.   

Charter schools have fought to protect their autonomy and their right to govern themselves and to allocate each of their budgets as they see fit.  There are now 69 different charter LEA’s operating 135 public charter schools.  They all allocate their resources differently and at their own discretion. Each LEA chooses how many staff and teachers to hire, how much to pay their teachers, when to give increases, what the benefits are and what the working conditions are.  Except for Munde Verde, none of their teachers are represented by a labor union.  The District of Columbia does not have a minimum pay requirement for teachers.  

It is our position that the proposal of the Mayor to provide a process to charter schools to use public dollars to apply for retroactive pay for their educators is generous, especially in light of the District’s tight budget.  There are also funds for raises.  If the Council decides to go forward with any retroactive compensation and a pay increase for charter teachers, the following issues must be addressed:

• This should not be about funding the charter sector or the widely differing LEA’s but about addressing pay directly to educators.  Thus the retroactive  payment cannot be an addition to the UPSFF

• Many, but not all, charter school educators have comparatively low pay – this could be remedied by a Council required floor for educator pay. 

• The definition of an educator should be the same for both sectors.  

• The salary of every DCPS employee including teachers is a matter of public record and is in the schedule A.  Charters are public schools funded by public money.  The salary structure and scale should be public including starting pay, how raises are determined etc.  This should be a requirement for receiving any funds.

• Charter school educators should be allowed to organize for union representation if they wish without being threatened.  Thus, charter schools should be prohibited from spending money to intimidate educators or staff from organizing a union as required by the National Labor Relations Act.  

 Additionally, with regard to the Education budget, the Council needs to correct the misinformation in the recent letter to each of the Council Members from Michelle Walker- Davis that makes reference to the Facilities Allowance (FA).  “Many questions have surrounded the facilities allotment for public charter schools. As nonprofits, public charter schools are responsible for funding every aspect of their campus including facilities acquisition and maintenance.” 

In calculating facilities expenditures, the charter sector claims that the FA is meant to include both capital related expenditures (long term leases and major facility improvements) as well as annual operating and maintenance costs. This was never the case, as the UPSFF was always meant to include the cost of custodians, utilities, and regular maintenance and repairs.  This is why DCPS covers these costs with its UPSFF.  

In DC our public schools operate in a competitive market.  We urge the Council to be careful and discerning in how they evaluate equity and advocacy.

C4DC – Coalition for DC Public Schools and Communities
http://www.c4dcpublicschools.org/ 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TO:  D.C. Council Members, Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Kihn 
FROM: Coalition for D.C. Public Schools and Communities 
RE: Opposition to charter operators 12-17-22 funding request 
DATE: January 12, 2023 Dear Members of the DC Council, Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Kihn,

We write on behalf of the Coalition for DC Public Schools and Communities to object to the recent request by charter operators to receive additional funding, for the reasons listed in the paragraphs below.  The Washington Teacher’s Union (WTU) recently completed collective bargaining with the District of Columbia. Nearly 3,500 DCPS teachers and other WTU members approved a new contract that will increase pay. This new contract which goes through this year also provides WTU members with a 12% retroactive raise for the past three years including a 4% raise for the current school year.  To fulfil that contractual obligation, the District will allocate funds to DCPS which must be paid directly to the 5,674 members in the WTU. 

In a letter to the Council and Mayor sixty of D.C.’s sixty-eight charter operators requested that the Council and Mayor allocate an equivalent per pupil payment to charter LEAS.  The Mayor and Council should not make a payment to charter local education agencies (LEA) in 2023 based on the WTU retroactive payments to DCPS teachers because:  

There is no legal obligation to do so. DC Council has the legal authority under the Home Rule Act to decide to provide funds pursuant to the School Reform Act that benefits DCPS outside of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF).  Although the Mayor and City Council provided additional funding to charter LEAs for retroactive funding tied to the 2017 WTU contract, they noted this was unprecedented.  The dismissal of the charter funding lawsuit in 2019 and the prior decision by the federal district court and the briefing in that lawsuit by the DC Attorney General, the General Counsel for the DC Council, and DC education advocates as friends of the court make clear that there is not a legal obligation for the City to do so.   

Charter teachers are not in the Washington Teachers Union. Each charter private non-profit Board of Directors sets the working conditions, pay, and benefits for their teachers. This is a significant difference between the two sectors, with the charter sector having explicitly fought for the right to operate as private nonprofits without unions.  The provision for retroactive pay is a benefit hard won by the WTU, and an important obligation of the District as a party to one of their most important labor contracts. The city will undermine its public sector employees and the organized labor sector if it pays union won retroactive benefits to charter LEAs that are not part of the union’s collective bargaining unit and therefore have no obligation to adhere to any provisions in the contract. 

The Uniform per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF) will increase starting in FY2024 as a result of the WTU negotiation.  Charters will benefit in the future from the WTU contract, since it necessitates an increase in the UPSFF base formula funds that reflect the agreed upon higher pay that will go to every student in both sectors.  DCPS must pay the retroactive salary increases and bonuses directly to the teachers.  The amount is not an increase in the DCPS LEA budget, as it would be for charters, if the request in their letter is honored.  

Many charter LEAs have sufficient funds to give their teachers retroactive pay raises if they choose to do so. The charter LEAs as a group in D.C. had accumulated unrestricted cash assets of $420 million by the end of FY2021.  Unlike DCPS, a city agency, charters retain funds from year to year.   Operating revenues continue to increase more than operating expenses, according to the DC Public Charter School Board’s FY2021 Financial Analysis Report.  If charter LEAs want to give their teachers pay raises for 2019-2022, many have the funds to do so.   

The additional and significant payment requested by charter school LEAs is unnecessary and precludes providing funding for other important needs for young people, such as for mental health and safety supports, out of school time opportunities, digital equity, and music and art programs.  The request by charter LEA’s for a one time payment in FY23 should be denied.    

Tech Infrastructure. The DC government has yet to make adequate investment in the infrastructure of individual schools that is needed for a 21st-century learning environment.

• Internet connectivity in schools. While some schools have received infrastructure upgrades to improve connectivity and reliability, others have not. Internet bandwidth issues will be exacerbated when we return to in-person learning with instruction and testing that is heavily reliant on technology.

• Smartboards and other classroom technology. The supply and condition of classroom technology varies by school and is often dependent on the ability of a school to access donations, participate in pilot programs, or be at the front of the line for modernization. DCPS must create a comprehensive, funded plan to consistently maintain and update classroom technology for all schools.