Sen. Mary Landrieu, the likely next leader of the subcommittee that controls D.C.’s budget, promised to champion reform of the District’s failing schools, but backed away from earlier comments pledging support of Adrian Fenty’s plans to take over.
“Clearly, reforms are needed to ensure transparency and the wise investment of federal funds,” Landrieu’s spokesman, Adam Sharp, said in an e-mail. “But I think it would be premature to speculate on anything specific before the senator has had any discussions with the new leadership team.”
Landrieu, D-La., is the ranking member on the Senate appropriations subcommittee for D.C. Sharp said it’s not clear that she’ll take over the subcommittee now that the Democrats control the Senate, but added she has the most seniority on the subcommittee.
Before the election, Sharp said Landrieu didn’t know Fenty’s takeover plan well enough to comment on it. But he suggested that Landrieu would be open to helping.
“Sen. Landrieu worked closely with Mayor [Anthony] Williams when he worked on school governance in 2004 and is committed to leading the charge if legislation is needed in Congress,” Sharp said on Oct. 25.
Landrieu is a huge fan of charter schools. In fact, it was her amendment that put charter schools in the District. In 2004, Landrieu tacked an amendment onto an appropriations bill that required D.C. to give charters first crack at surplus school space. It also ordered the District to give charter schools a 25 percent discount when selling public buildings to them.
Fellow Democrats were outraged. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said she was “irate” to learn of Landrieu’s amendment.
D.C. now has more charter schools than any major city. But their test scores have been as abysmal as traditional schools, and their offices have been plagued by corruption. A grand jury is now focusing on whether former charter school executive Brenda L. Belton shuffled money to her friends, her family and herself through a series of companies.
Sharp said that Landrieu is hoping for “a swift conclusion” to the investigation.
