Community Meeting on School Closures This Week
Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee today announced that they will hold a community meeting concerning the schools recently proposed for closure on Wednesday, February 27th, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at McKinley Technical Senior High School, 151 T Street NE.
Earlier this year, Fenty and Rhee were criticized by a few squeaky wheels for their selection of schools to be “rightsized” due to low enrollment, and a revised list of schools was released following input from community members, parents and faculty. According to a statement from the chancellor’s office, the purpose of this week’s meeting is to “solicit public input” regarding the revised closure list, but also receive feedback about broader schools issues, specifically, “the current and prospective educational needs of pupils in the District of Columbia public schools, educational programs that can address these needs, and support systems needed for safety and efficiency.”
The most recent round of school closure hearings, held last month, sparked several hours of testimony and debate, as well as walk-outs and demonstrations led mostly by activists looking to take a stand against the Fenty administration. The initial fuss around the closure proposals has since died down, so Wednesday’s meeting should prove less eventful.
Photo by Amber Wiley
Members of the public are invited to testify for up to five minutes at the community meeting, or to submit written testimony. Those wishing to testify should contact Traci Higgins in the Office of the Chancellor via email at Traci.Higgins(at)dc.gov or by telephone at (202) 442-5615 by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26. Witnesses should bring three copies of their testimony to the community meeting.
Those who can not attend, but who wish to make their comments part of the official record, should submit copies of written statements to Ms. Cheryl Vincent, Receptionist, DCPS, Office of the Chancellor, 825 North Capitol Street NE, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20002, no later than 5 p.m., Friday, February 29.