jonetta rose barras: Council Chairman Phil Mendelson’s education mess

What was he thinking of? I wanted to ask DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson that question a day after he decided essentially to name himself and at-large Council member David Grosso co-chairs of the Committee on Education.

As the head of the legislative branch, Mendelson has jurisdiction over committee assignments, though the full council must formalize his recommendations. Unfortunately, he did not return my telephone call to fully explain his reasoning.

However, he told The Washington Post that he looked at his actions as “the prioritization of improving education on the council.” Then, Mendelson did this dance: He said that he had heard concerns about “how the public education system is not moving fast enough or far enough with improvement” but also that the criticism didn’t “speak to the existing committee, that speaks to the problem of education.”

Mendelson undoubtedly was suffering a case of doublespeak.

By simultaneously placing education under the jurisdiction of his Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Education, Mendelson has created a political miasma, diffused accountability for oversight of education agencies at a time when major changes are on the horizon, and set the stage for public policy chaos.

In other words, he has created an absolute mess.

Mendelson should immediately reverse his decision regarding his co-chairing education for Council Period 23. If he lacks confidence in Grosso’s ability to head the committee, another council member should be selected as committee leader or, instead of straddling the fence, Mendelson could take full command of education, placing it under the Committee of the Whole as did his two most recent predecessors.

Failing any of those alternatives, council members should vote to disapprove this aspect of Mendelson’s council organization plan when it is placed before them on Jan. 2.

Interestingly, at the start of Council Period 22, which ends on Dec. 31, there were civic leaders who were justifiably unhappy with the agency alignments within several committees and the appointed chairmanships. Mendelson now seems to have outdone himself.

Immediately upon Mendelson’s pronouncement last week, Grosso sought to minimize the damage to his reputation and influence, telling the press that he and Mendelson have worked well together. However, Grosso must know that as he prepares for a possible 2020 re-election bid, the bifurcated committee assignment could ensnare his ambitions, making it difficult for him to claim sole credit for any improvements in an area that affects 97,000 children and their families.

Sure, there are some people, myself included, who have not been entirely satisfied with Grosso’s leadership of the committee over the past four years. He appears to have miscalculated by choosing to be overly cordial with the executive branch rather than conducting intense and rigorous oversight. His predecessor, former at-large member David Catania, didn’t care much about making mayoral friends; he had a take-no-prisoners-attitude during oversight, often riling education leaders. Despite — or perhaps because of — that style, he successfully secured passage of several key policy changes, including providing additional funding for at-risk students.

Grosso often has come across as timid. Moreover, he has been caught flat-footed when controversies have broken, or he simply has not wanted to dive into such scandals to secure the necessary information and demand a change of course, where needed.

For example, even before the 2017 graduating imbroglio hit the press, Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh, realizing the conflict between test scores and graduation rates, invited Grosso to join her in sending a letter to State Superintendent for Education Hanseul Kang. Grosso declined that invitation. He also ignored at-large member Robert White’s request to hold a roundtable after the revelation of the high teacher turnover rate at Ballou High School. A recent report by DC Public Schools expert Mary Levy indicates that in the 2016-17 school year, Ballou lost 40 percent of its classroom teachers.

Meanwhile, a task force established to make recommendations for how charter and traditional schools might work collaboratively never publicly released its report. An extensive plan to change neighborhood boundaries never fully materialized — although as the population has grown, the city’s public schools may be experiencing more economic diversity while remaining racially segregated, according to a recent study by the D.C. Policy Center.  

That suggests that richer and whiter families with children still are not choosing public schools in many parts of the city; an issue with which the District has grappled for decades continues to be unresolved, as does the overall achievement gap between white students and those of color.

Then there are concerns about the new deputy mayor for education, who has just been confirmed without any rigorous questioning of his abilities. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also nominated a new chancellor, Lewis Ferebee, although he does not come without his own controversy, as was recently reported by The Post. Grosso has said he will examine complaints about Ferebee’s handling of a sexual abuse case in an Indianapolis school while he was superintendent there. But who will control the confirmation hearing — Grosso or Mendelson? Or will there be two hearings?

The Education Committee will have its hands full over the next two years during Council Period 23; let’s not even speak about the public library concerns that will need to be addressed. Having two chairmen could delay resolution of very important matters.

The rules allow the council chairman to participate as a member of any committee, at any time. If Mendelson isn’t interested in taking full responsibility but wants to be more involved in education issues, he can exercise that prerogative. For the sake of DC schoolchildren and their families, however, he should end his fascination with double-chairmanships.

jonetta rose barras is a DC-based freelance writer and host of The Barras Report television show. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.