At the end of the 2011 fiscal year, the District contracted a $240 million surplus, mostly thanks to an estate tax windfall, increased income tax withholding, and automatic traffic ticket enforcement. City Council recently passed an initiative to allocate $7 million of the surplus to D.C. Public Schools and another $7 million to D.C. charter schools.
While the Council is specifying what the public schools have to spend their allowance on, charter schools have much more leeway in deciding where to spend their money. The $7 million going to DCPS must be spent on infrastructure and internet connection setup. The $7 million portion that will be going to D.C. charter schools, on the other hand, can be used for facilities or essentially any other funding priority.
The decision to allocate some of the budget surplus to education is commendable, even if only a small portion. But the Council should not dictate what the public schools spend this extra money on. Instead, it should trust local principals, teachers, and parents to know what individual schools need most.
Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson has made principals responsible for reforming struggling schools. In some cases, Henderson hand-picked people for the position over the heads of teachers and administrative staff. Henderson has invested her principals with incredible responsibility. And the onus is on them to improve struggling schools. We should trust these people to spend the money where their schools need it most.
This is not to say that the D.C. Council should not give indications on where funds should be directed; it is more than apt to specify that this windfall should go to classroom resources or infrastructure. But beyond that, the council should let schools address their individual needs.
Proponents of charter schools point out that their independence allows them to be creative and explore innovative education strategies. Let public schools do the same, and make improvements that will best improve their students’ experiences.
Various schools in distinct parts of the District need different things. Not all consider internet connection a priority—some schools have more pressing needs, like books and chalk. The best way to tackle the various issues is to defer to those who work with the institutions every day.
