Photo by yonas1.

We’re betting that there’s plenty of locals scratching their heads today, and we’re joining them. The Post is reporting that Mayor Adrian Fenty has backed out of a highly anticipated one-on-one debate with challenger Vincent Gray on, of all things, education. The debate, hosted by the Young Education Professionals and expected to draw well over the room’s 275-person capacity, would have allowed Fenty to lay out the case for his re-election based on the one issue that he staked his entire first term on, as well as allowing him to pressure Gray on deciding whether or not he would keep D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee if he were to be elected.

The Fenty camp had little more to say other than the mayor “couldn’t make it work,” and the event will apparently still happen as — wait for it — a townhall with Gray, alone. Short of Fenty being on a secret trip to China to kidnap a baby panda for the National Zoo or negotiating an ultra-secret pact with Congress to get the District statehood, we’re at a loss as to why he would bail on debating an issue that he’s received plenty of credit for.

The debate’s organizers aren’t letting this go quietly, either — they’ve asked people to post messages on Fenty’s Facebook page, tweet at him (@Fenty2010) with the #yepdc hashtag, or call his campaign office. At this point, we’re not sure if it’s worse for him to not go at all or to be shamed into going by a bunch of folks with Twitter accounts.