Today Mayor Adrian Fenty takes his school takeover plan back to the D.C. Council, where it’s expected to get final approval. Earlier this month, the council voted 9-2 to give Fenty control of Washington schools, with wide berth to appoint a school superintendent who would report directly to the mayor and an elected school board serving only in an advisory capacity. Under the proposal, the council would maintain line-item budget control, be able to set academic standards and have the authority to take control of the school system away from the mayor if he failed to show “sufficient progress in education” within five years.

The first vote passed with only Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) dissenting. Candidate for the vacant Ward 4 council seat, Lisa Comfort Bradford, filed suit to temporary halt the April 3rd vote, saying the decision should be delayed until after the special elections for wards 4 and 7. A judge denied the request.

Fenty says the New York City-style school takeover will bolster change in the District’s crumbling school system. He sites the high rate of students continuing to fail to meet academic benchmarks and the many school facilities in disrepair, among other problems, as evidence the District’s educational system is in need of massive change. If passed, the takeover must still gain Congressional approval.

Photo by Flickr user nayr.