The D.C. Council is meeting for the final day of its summer session as we speak, and as we mentioned in this morning's roundup, a confirmation vote for deputy mayor for education Victor Reinoso has been postponed until at least September. But other key Fenty school takeover appointments are expected to be confirmed today, including Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Allen Lew, acting director of the new Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization. Yesterday, Lew... more ›

Well that was fast. After placing a second hold on legislation granting Mayor Adrian Fenty direct control over the District's public schools, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) this afternoon agreed to lift her hold and let the proposal move forward in the Senate. According to the Post, Landrieu did so after being assured that School Board President Robert Bobb (pictured right), who had asked for the hold, and Fenty had agreed to sit down and iron... more ›

Two senators, two holds on District legislation -- sounds like business as usual up on Capitol Hill, doesn't it? The Post brings news that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) became the second Democratic senator to put a hold on the legislation that would formalize Mayor Adrian Fenty's bid for increased control over the city's troubled public schools. Two weeks ago, Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) used the same tactic to force the District to negotiate over the... more ›

Given that the state of the District's public schools is one of the city's most pressing problems, we were excited to see Mayor Adrian Fenty host an online chat at the Post to clarify and explain his ambitious plans for a mayoral takeover. Unfortunately, the chat ended up sounding much like most of President George W. Bush's public appearances -- staged and scrubbed free of criticism. Fenty fielded 16 questions in total, none of which... more ›

Better late than never, right? That seems to be the philosophy guiding D.C. Schools Superintendent Clifford Janey and School Board President Robert Bobb, who this week kick off a $75 million repair blitz in 70 of the city's 142 schools. Writes the Examiner on the campaign: Systems to be repaired include bathrooms, water fountains and lighting — all issues that have been identified as having the greatest impact on the students’ and teachers’ quality of... more ›