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Tuesday, the D.C. Council unanimously passed legislation that will require that juveniles have their criminal records released to the public if they are convicted of a violent crime. If Mayor Adrian Fenty signs the legislation, it may make it harder for young people convicted of an offense to go college or get a job. Harold Hunter works with young people as a substitute teacher with DCPS and as a volunteer with Cease-Fire Don’t Smoke the Brothers and Sisters. Hunter expressed concern regarding the Council’s recent legislation and called on Mayor Fenty not to sign the bill in its current form.
The Washington Post recently published a manifesto on school reform which claimed that the difficulty in removing incompetent teachers has “left our school districts impotent and, worse, has robbed millions of children of a real future.” The Manifesto was signed by 16 big-city school district chiefs, including New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, outgoing DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Baltimore Public Schools Chief Executive Andres Alfonso, superintendant of Prince George’s County Public Schools William Hite, among others.
Also signing the Manifesto was Philadelphia public schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who served as D.C. Superintendent of Schools from 1998-2000. However, after reading the Manifesto – which Ackerman said is different than what she had seen – she withdrew her support. In a strongly-worded letter published online at the Washington Post, Ackerman said, “I have written this letter… after discovering that the original document… to which I affixed my name was not what later appeared in print, nor did it fully encompass my core principles. Unfortunately, the views of this career urban educator are not likely to make the big screen because the facts are too complex and there is no kryptonite… The truth is our public schools have been asked not only to educate children but also to solve many of the ills that the larger society either cannot or will not fix. I am speaking of issues directly related to poverty like hunger, violence, homelessness, and unchecked childhood diseases… In spite of these challenges, there are thousands of dedicated and committed educators who are working hard to make access to a quality education for all children who attend public schools a reality.”
Also on the education front, Teaching for Change has published an article entitled “First Hand View of the DC School Reform Debate in DC.” It reads, “Absent from [the] discussion [on school reform] are the voices of many DCPS students, parents and teachers. The story of one school where we have worked on parent organizing, Bruce-Monroe Elementary School, is among the examples of why DC voters rejected the substance of the reforms.” Deborah Menkart is Executive Director of Teaching for Change and authored the article.
The Washington Area Women’s Foundation has released a report entitled “2010 Portrait of Women and Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area.” The report culminates a year-long research partnership among Washington Area Women’s Foundation, Urban Institute, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Trinity Washington University and the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation’s Capital. The report finds that, in our region, one in five women-headed households with children is poor, and likely to have housing that is unaffordable. The report also finds that the cost of center-based infant care is 52 percent of the median income of a single mother with young children. Nicky Goren is president and CEO of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
The Prince George’s County Council is considering a two percent pay raise for non-unionized county employees. The Council is also considering a pay raise for themselves and the County Executive. Prince George’s County Councilmembers receive more than $96,000 a year for their part-time positions and the County Executive earns more than $174,000 a year.
Like Prince George’s County Councilmembers, D.C. Councilmembers also define their job as “part-time,” which allows them to earn outside income. Possibly the two most egregious examples of outside salaries for D.C. Councilmembers are At-large Councilmember David Catania and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans.
In addition to his Council salary of more than $125,000 a year, Mr. Catania earns $120,000 a year from OpenBand, LLC, according to Office of Campaign Finance reports. OpenBand LLC is a subsidiary of MC Dean, a company which, according to the Washington Post, “holds the contract to maintain and repair city traffic signals — one of the most lucrative contracts in city government. Last year’s contract was worth $9.3 million to the company… Since 1999, according to city billing records, M.C. Dean has done more than $130 million in business with the District.”
In addition to his Council salary, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans earns $240,000 a year from the law firm Patton Boggs. It is unclear what he does for this money.
The Washington Business Journal reports that Councilmember Evans has withdrawn a bill that would have provided $100,000 in tax breaks to allow Shiloh Baptist Church to carry out renovations on its property on 9th St, NW. Evans said, “The purpose of the legislation is to explore the idea of having monies owed by Shiloh put into escrow and used to renovate the properties rather than paying the money to the District Government.” While Evans has withdrawn this legislation which would provide Shiloh with $100,000 in tax breaks in order to make renovations, he continues to push forward with $61 million in tax breaks for an Adams Morgan hotel (which will displace WPFW), as well as $272 million in public susbidies for the Convention Center Hotel to be owned by Marriott. Mr. Evans has repeatedly refused to say whether Marriott is a client of Patton Boggs.
D.C. Council Chairman and presumptive-mayor-elect Vincent Gray continues his listening tour this evening with a Ward 8 Town Hall meeting at Mathews Memorial Baptist Church scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. Tuesday evening, hundreds of people gathered at Carlos Rosario Public Charter High School for Gray’s Ward 1 Town Hall. Issues discussed included the closure of Bruce-Monore Elementary School, the removal of Patrick Pope as principal of Hardy Middle School, bullying of students, particularly gay, lesbian and transgender students, and of course, the need for jobs for District residents. Here is some of what Vincent Gray had to say to the overflow crowd at Carlos Rosario Tuesday evening. The audio is not great, so listen carefully.
Presumptive Mayor-elect Gray then took questions. The first one was asked by former Ward 1 Councilmember Frank Smith.
This evening, Gray’s listening tour continues with a Ward 8 Town Hall meeting at Mathews Memorial Baptist Church.
Those are some of the local headlines here on “Spectrum Today.” I’m Pete Tucker filling in for Askia Muhammad.