The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics changed its tune yesterday and reversed an earlier decision by stating that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s school takeover plan cannot be the subject of a referendum. Once again, it comes down to the Home Rule Charter: attorneys for the election board said in papers filed yesterday that because Congress and President Bush have approved an amendment to the city’s Home Rule Charter that gives the mayor direct control over D.C. Schools, the takeover plan cannot go on a special ballot — the Home Rule Charter clearly states that residents cannot undo an act of Congress.
After the change in the board’s position, D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer filed a motion with the court last night to withdraw the adminstration’s appeal. A hearing scheduled for this morning in Superior Court was canceled, leaving the school takeover legislation in place to go into effect next week without further delay. Matthew Watson, the attorney for activist Mary Spencer who filed the referedum petition, could challenge the board’s ability to reverse its own decision, but he told the Washington Times he thinks it’s unlikely a judge would agree.
Expectations for what Fenty will need to do with D.C.’s failing public school system now that he was finally wrested control from the school board couldn’t be higher. We expect we’ll be hearing about the mayor’s decision to fire Superintendent Clifford B. Janey within the next week, as Fenty and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso plot out a busy summer ahead getting the District’s schools in order to open in the fall.
Photo by Eye Captain
