Here we are, with substantial data, but still without an educational facilities plan. I would like to suggest a way forward, which I think will provide tremendous promise for our city and schools.
- Give up on cross sector planning. The charter sector has been more than clear—they do not want to coordinate planning and they are not required to collaborate.
- Provide a Maximum Enrollment Schedule for the Charter School Board. Just as the Charter School Board has the authority to allocate enrollment caps for each of its LEAs, the Council should control the enrollment size of the charter sector.
- Empower the DCPS Chancellor to work with communities and schools to produce an education plan and educational facilities master plan for how DCPS provides both equitable access to DCPS schools and access to equitable DCPS schools.
One of the important realities this study reveals is just how complex and unstable our system is, with families and communities buffeted by operators—including DCPS, with few and meagre opportunities to affect their futures.
Just to give the Council an idea of the cost benefit to the City of a strategy toward an education strategic plan. What if the $51 million going to educate about 4,000 adults went instead to DC Community College? Many scholarships could be provided and remediation toward a HS diploma could be aligned to job training. This should be looked at, even if not adopted fully.
If there was an invest and grow strategy for DCPS and it enrolled up to its building capacity of about 65,000, rather than its current 50,000, the City education budget would be $50 million per year less than it is now—just in savings from the add-on of the facilities allowance.
How DCPS grow?
- DCPS could provide right access to early childhood and used under-utilized spaces or portables to meet the need. Again, the facilities allowance for early childhood in charters is $22.9 million for ONE year. DCPS has about $1.5 million per year in its capital budget for early childhood facility improvements. Seems a poor fiscal choice for the city.
- DCPS could provide charter students by-right access to DCPS middle and high schools.
- DCPS could provide transportation to middle schools from the feeder elementary schools.
- DCPS could support their programmatic offerings to grow their enrollments.
The savings from investing and growing DCPS could do much to reduce homelessness in the district; or fix up public housing; or meet the needs of at-risk children. Throwing money at “seats” hoping that by making more, we eventually get to quality, has been well tested in DC and has shown mixed results. It is clear, however, that it is extremely expensive.
The District has avoided difficult discussions of these important issues. With 212 schools and 67 school districts, it is past time for a civic discussion on sector balance. It will be difficult, but well worth it.
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