Most people agree that Washington’s school system needs to be fixed, but they differ wildly on how to do it. Just ask Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty (D), Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, City Council members and community activists. They’ve been battling one another since November, when Fenty and Rhee proposed closing public schools.
Now that public comment has passed and the list has been revised to 21 schools, it’s even more obvious that closures are a necessary step toward improving D.C.’s school system.
The Mayor’s office took over the school system and appointed Rhee last spring, angering many of the same people now fighting the school closures.
Yet both Fenty and Rhee have maintained high approval ratings, and if they want to make real changes, they will have to pursue serious reforms—even if that means closing schools.
Save Our Schools, an organization formed to opposed the closures, organized a boycott of community meetings on the schools and a student-teacher walk-out. Despite this fierce opposition, the school policy is right for the city.
The school closures are crucial for eliminating unnecessary spending, as Rhee told the Council last week: “By spending money to maintain this space while simultaneously spreading our limited education resources across it, we are throwing money into a fire that is consuming our kids’ opportunities.”
Residents have expressed valid concerns about the closures, including the loss of community pillars and the fear that some good academic programs will be lost. But the benefits of consolidating schools outweigh the costs. The cuts will mean more money for textbooks, music and art programs.
Closing the schools is necessary to leave enough room in the budget for reforms. Even Andre Johnson, the spokesman for Councilman Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who supported the meeting boycott, said Barry acknowledged the need to consolidate and close some schools.
Despite the protests, Fenty and Rhee must go ahead and do the unfortunate-but-necessary: closing some schools to save the rest.
