City Desk is reporting that Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray have settled their argument over the $27 million that the Council voted last month to strip from the DCPS budget because of differences in enrollment projections. The Council is voting (any minute now?) to restore $24 million to DCPS in the FY2010 budget, with the remainder being placed in escrow until enrollment counts are finalized in October. Rhee and Gray will also collaborate going forward to create a “uniform method” for projecting enrollment. The Council initially withdrew the money because it felt the projections on which the budget had been based were inflated. DCPS enrollment has been steadily declining for years, but Rhee’s budget assumed a growth of about 3,000 students. Rhee countered by threatening that schools would be forced to eliminate teaching positions in order to make up the deficit. She defended the projected enrollment growth, but yesterday conceded in a letter to Gray that, “I cannot guarantee that this will occur.” Strangely, that slight admission seemed to be all Gray needed to release the majority of the money.