As D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams prepared to announce the agreement to bring a baseball team to the District, students at Eastern High School began another school day without books. Although it may seem that bringing the soon-to-be-former Montreal Expos to the city will solve financial problems, in reality it will drain resources from already ailing D.C. institutions, like the public school system.
In order to attract the Expos, the city has promised to build a $400 million stadium in Anacostia, to be finished in 2008. Additionally, the district will spend $13 million to renovate Robert F. Kennedy stadium, where the team will play from 2005 until the completion of the stadium. Both of these projects will be mostly publicly funded.
Meanwhile, Eastern High School, in Southwest, failed to open on the city’s mandated first day of classes. The school, plagued by lack of materials, teacher shortages, structural damage and scheduling difficulties, is surprisingly representative of the state of public schools in D.C. The Washington Post recently published a list of 66 schools, including 23 elementary schools needing immediate improvement to reach an acceptable standard.
In an interview with the Washington Post, newly-appointed D.C. Superintendent of Schools Clifford Janey described Roosevelt High School in Northwest as “a building residing in a third world country.” Even recently constructed schools are falling into disrepair. Barnard Elementary, completed 18 months ago at a cost of $24 million, is marred by peeling paint and leaky ceilings.
Supporters of the baseball plan argue that the team will increase revenue for local businesses and provide jobs for residents and contractors. Williams has been quick to emphasize that funding the renovations and stadium will not detract from aid marked for the school system. Instead, business taxes will be increased to cover the staggering costs.
In a city where the public schools seem to be rapidly failing, shouldn’t any extra tax revenue be used toward school improvements? It is obvious that the priorities of the district are skewed when education takes a backseat to baseball. How bad do the public schools have to get before city officials realize that they have chosen a baseball team over the well-being of students?
