D.C. parents with questions about their child’s education could soon find themselves dialing into the District’s customerservice phone bank, the same number residents call for trash pick-ups and nonemergency public safety requests.
Mayor Adrian Fenty said Wednesday he wants to see most school-related calls directed to 727-1000, the Citywide Call Center operated by the Office of Unified Communications. The same agency handles all 311 and 911 calls out of the Unified Communications Center in Southeast.
“In fact [Chancellor Michelle Rhee] right now refers people to 727-1000,” Fenty said. “She’s out in the community and she says call 727-1000, and eventually if they can’t answer the question then they’ll pass through to the school system.”
But some parents might not find the change welcome. The center today is the still subject of complaints, especially on online neighborhood forums, about lost calls and rude or ill-informed operators on subjects ranging from rats to graffiti.
Janice Quintana, director of the unified communications office, is now developing a strategy and estimated budget for the switch.
“The school officials want to make sure that parents are aware that their first line of recourse should be going to the schools themselves,” said Everett Lott, Quintana’s chief of staff.
