City Council members and community activists will boycott two dozen public hearings being held tonight to address Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s controversial plans to close 23 public schools by next summer.
Fenty scrapped plans in late December for one large public hearing on the school closing, replacing it with 23 separate hearings.
Fenty spokesperson Carrie Brooks said in an e-mail that the hearings were divided to allow for more targeted dialogue with parents.
Opponents of the plan say that Fenty and Rhee have repeatedly ignored their concerns and that many opposing voices will not be heard because Fenty and Rhee will not attend all the meetings.
“We are calling attention to the sham meetings that the mayor is holding,” District of Columbia Coalition to Save Our Neighborhood Schools member Zein El-Amine said. “D.C. law requires that the mayor and the chancellor be at the community meetings regarding the schools. Now, since they’ve called for 23 in one night, there is no way they can make all the meetings unless they’re Santa Claus.”
The boycotters have found support within the City Council. Council members Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) are openly supporting the boycotters, helping them secure the council building to hold a protest meeting today.
Barry spokesperson Andre Johnson said that the council member acknowledges the need to close and consolidate some schools, but called the 23 hearings “unreasonable.”
“It’s not feasibly possible for people to participate in a productive way,” Johnson said.
Brooks said that Rhee had already attended nine community meetings to discuss the school closings.
A spokesperson for Rhee did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Aside from the number of hearings, many parents are most troubled by the decision to close the schools.
“They never looked at the schools, so they’re about to close very successful programs,” Coalition member and public school parent Crystal Sylvia said.
“Those should be models. Those should be embraced.”
Even if Fenty and Rhee agree to one public hearing, El-Amine said, the Coalition will continue to oppose school closures, and demand a moratorium on charter schools, which are currently allowed to expand even if they don’t outperform public schools.
