S.H.A.P.P.E.

Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators

Phone/Fax 202-722-4462; email cathy.p.reilly@verizon.net

Council of the District of Columbia

John A. Wilson Building, Suite 5
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 2004
September 30, 2009
Dear Chairman Gray and Members of the Council,

The goal of SHAPPE as an organization of high school principals, parents, teachers, students and
others involved in the day-to-day operations of senior high schools, is to help give voice to a
school perspective. This letter is an outgrowth of the discussion at our September monthly
meeting attended by nine of the high schools and additional discussions with many of those not
present. One of our aims is to help improve system support for schools. All ten neighborhood
high schools in the second year of restructuring serve students from the poorest neighborhoods
many of whom are not prepared to do high school work and are in need of support. The 9th grade
failure rate can be as high as 50%.

The Council passed the School Reform Act of 2007 to improve education for the public school
students of the District of Columbia. It was created to support schools as they struggle to
provide a safe appropriate environment with adequate resources as well as caring, competent
teachers and administrators who are supported in their work. In order to achieve this there
have to be basic planning, reporting and accountability mechanisms in place to ensure that
at least these basic tenets of a well run school system are operating – an agreed upon fair
evaluation process for teachers and administrators; a well managed budget and planning
process; maintained and educationally appropriate facilities and support for the
partnership of families and the larger community.

The events this fall demonstrate that many of these provisions are not in place. In most other
jurisdictions, the necessary accountability functions are performed by the Board of Education.
They were omitted from the 2007 School Reform Act and they are not required by the Chief
Financial Officer. It is time to address these omissions. Our immediate concern is that this DCPS
central administration has fewer responsibilities and more funds than their predecessors.
Significant federal stimulus funds were added to the DCPS budget. 1

Yet this September:

All schools were cut 228 dollars a student – (roughly from two to four teaching positions
for high schools). DCPS was not required to present a full budget detailing why the
reduction was necessary since they received more in FY10 than in FY09.

DCPS was not required to put in place a fair system to place teachers excessed from
restructured and closed schools in spring of 2008 and 2009 or a fair system for evaluating
teachers effectively to determine whether they should be teaching. DCPS assigned these
excessed teachers to schools as “gifted” teachers in August. The cost was added to
1
Funding has increased for DCPS although it no longer covers the cost of maintenance or legal services. The
Council budget sheets for DCPS indicate a total budget for FY 2010 of $780 million in Sept of 2009. The total
approved budget for FY 2009 was $765 million with 3000 more students projected...
 individual school budgets to bring the budget in line with the enrollment and that amount
was added to the budget cut schools had to reconcile one month into the school year.

Schools are funded based on the numbers of students they are serving. They were
budgeted according to a projection determined by central office, looking at a number of
demographic factors. Schools that did not meet the projection had to reduce their budgets
to come in line with the actual number of students which constituted a third component of
the budget cut schools are now having to reconcile ($7200.00 was subtracted or added
per high school student under or over their projected enrollment). DCPS was not
required to explain the 7200 dollar figure or make public the enrollment numbers
ensuring a transparent process. According to the proposed 2010 school budgets most
comprehensive high schools received much less than this per pupil – some as low as
$6116.00.

DCPS was not required to justify the need or the timing of a Reduction In Force. It was
not done over the summer but one month into the school year. DCPS school leadership is
now vulnerable to the charge that the process was unfair, and may have targeted
particular individuals for Reduction in Force without cause with the attendant legal fees.

DCPS was not required to explain why despite the fact that the Council allocates the
highest funding for high school students, acknowledging the cumulative deficits and the
complex task of these schools, DCPS allocates the lowest funding to the neighborhood
high schools. Charter high school students are funded at the higher rate.2

We ask that the Council conduct a hearing immediately, requiring the Chief Financial Officer
and the DCPS administration to make publicly available all the financial reports, enrollment and
staffing data used in the school budget reduction. This has to be done to better inform any
proposed adjustments to the School Reform Act of 2007.

The budget and resulting staffing cuts have made an already difficult set of circumstances much
worse. Up to 17 staff positions may be eliminated at Cardozo High School. Electives will be
eliminated at others. Schools may have to change full schedules half way through the advisory.
Classes will be larger. Students dealing with difficult family circumstances have formed
relationships with the teachers and others in their schools. Some of these people will be gone a
little over one month into the year.

The absence of requirements in the law for public process, transparency and reporting has left us
wondering whether all this disruption caused by the budget cut to schools was necessary. It has
compromised the reform effort in the high schools. We are ready to work with you to put in
place the necessary provisions to prevent this from happening again and to address what can be
remedied right now.
Sincerely,

Cathy Reilly
Director of the Senior High Alliance of
Parents, Principals and Educators

2
The base funding per pupil for 2009 and 2010 is $8770. The City sees high school students as more expensive
allocating $10,173 per high school student for 2009 and 2010. While this figure covers central as well as local
school expenses, and would not be passed along to the schools in its entirety, it is noteworthy that DCPS
neighborhood high schools are the lowest funded in DCPS.