School advocates say D.C. Public School officials are delaying the release of the long-awaited Master Facilities Plan to avoid the political firestorm the 600-page document would likely ignite before the primary election.
The document was expected to be released on June 30, a deadline stipulated in a $1 billion school funding measure passed last fall by the D.C. Council. DCPS Superintendent Clifford Janey announced last month that the full document would not be released until November to give the system more time.
School advocates sent a letter to the D.C. School Board last week demanding the document be released immediately to give parents so “the necessary public review and comment can begin.”
“This is extremely undemocratic,” said Marc Borbely, co-author of the letter and founder of Fix-Our-Schools.Net. “This is a huge, huge effort and we cannot have this process burdened or slowed down because of politics.”
D.C. School Board member Tommy Wells, who is also a candidate for D.C. Council, said the allegations are unfounded and that the school board needs to more time to ensure the first phase of school closures and consolidations — including a total of 13 schools by next month — is completed.
“I’m not concerned about the delay at all,” Wells said. “The board is in control of this, not the advocatesor anyone else. We want to do this right.”
A total of five new school board members will be elected this fall, and advocates say the public deserves to question them on where they stand on the largest school building revitalization in the city’s history.
When the D.C. Council passed the modernization bill last fall, council members expressed concern that the school system would be unable to handle the massive changes. Advocates said the delay “reduces public perception that DCPS can effectively manage implementation.”
D.C. Council Member Kathy Patterson, chair of the education committee, has said she is comfortable with the delay as long as the plan continues to move forward. Patterson is running for Council Chair.
