Iris Bond Gill and Suzanne Wells: DC needs an education vision for equity and efficiency

In what has become an annual rite of spring, the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) last month approved the opening of five new charter schools: one elementary, two middle and two high schools. From 2012 to 2018, the board approved the opening of 25 new charter schools as well as the addition of 24 new campuses or programs operated by existing schools.

The May 20 vote to open five new schools came just five days after Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn released a memorandum saying the city already has a significant number of middle and high schools with empty seats. The deputy mayor based his findings on existing school utilization in both the charter schools and the DC Public Schools (DCPS) system, as well as DC Office of Planning data on the projected middle and high school age population. Kihn’s memo says there are a significant number of middle and high schools operating with low enrollments; they are competing for students from a limited population that is not currently growing.

Authorizing so many new schools is clearly not rooted in an analysis of what the city needs, and it creates problems that hurt students in a domino effect. When a new school opens, it pulls at least part of its enrollment from existing charters or DCPS schools, which in turn lose both students and the dollars that follow them. As existing schools lose students, the economies of scale that derive from full enrollment disappear. Without adequate enrollment, a growing number of unintentionally small schools struggle to meet basic staffing needs.

Our city is generous in the funding it puts toward public education. In fiscal year 2019, $2.5 billion — 17.8 percent of the city’s budget — was spent on education. Our tax dollars are not unlimited, and there is a base level of funding required to operate our schools — an amount that is higher for campuses that serve the city’s most vulnerable students. These schools need social-emotional support resources, special education staff, guidance counselors and other staffing; as enrollment dips, these positions are often the first to be cut. To best serve our students, we need to spend public education dollars wisely, not spread them too thin.

We must be similarly mindful when it comes to facilities. While our city should be commended for its progress in modernizing public school buildings — every ward can boast beautiful DCPS schools, and more are being modernized every year — officials need to protect our investment. Yet each new charter school adds to our facility costs. The city’s charter schools receive an annual $3,335 facility allowance for each student they enroll — amounting to a $150 million expenditure last year. With so much capital investment in facilities, it is not an efficient use of resources to open new schools when seats in both charter schools and DCPS go unfilled.

Congress established the Public Charter School Board in 1995 — the same year Congress formed the financial control board in DC because the city was operating at an unsustainable deficit. At the time, DC was dealing with a crack epidemic, high crime, and underfunded schools with declining enrollments. Congress set up the PCSB as an independent entity authorized to open up to 20 new schools a year. While it may have made sense in 1995 to empower the board to jump-start the charter school sector, the District’s complete lack of authority over charter growth today is a major problem.

Families in the District want equitable investment in a citywide system of neighborhood public schools that provides predictable and fair access to high-quality schools across various communities — not countless choices. District residents have consistently indicated they believe our traditional neighborhood public schools can succeed with proper investment. Meanwhile, the PCSB has consistently shown unwillingness to plan the opening and closing of schools in consultation with DCPS officials and communities. This lack of coordination suggests the District does not have the necessary policies in place to advance the public’s interests.

As a first step toward responsible planning and allocation of our public education funds, we call upon the mayor and DC Council to establish a cap on enrollment in the charter sector, and to mandate that DCPS develop a plan to ensure strong matter-of-right schools across our city. We need a public education vision for our city that strategically addresses the needs of families and students across both sectors. It is time to reform our laws, policies and practices to create a public school system that focuses on both equity and efficiency, and one that supports every single student.

Iris Bond Gill, a Ward 6 resident, is the parent of two children who will attend Washington Latin Public Charter School in the fall. Suzanne Wells is a Ward 6 resident whose daughter recently graduated from Eliot-Hine Middle School.

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