An ambitious elected official, a finance officer challenged by simple math, and a manager eager to achieve an important goal mugged education reform this week.
Call the police. Call emergency personnel.
The assault began Monday, when Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, during a public briefing, relentlessly questioned Mayor Adrian M. Fenty about whether money was in his 2011 budget for the retroactive portion of the 22-percent salary increase required in the tentative Washington Teacher’s Union contract. Fenty said funds were included. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi urged Gray to delay discussion until CFO staff conducted its mandatory review of the agreement and pay plan. Gray persisted.
“The way he was going on, it could lead some people to believe he was trying to kill the thing,” said a council source, who like others I spoke with requested anonymity.
“I left the hearing with the perception the money wasn’t there,” said one council member.
“The chairman was asking questions that should be asked in a public hearing. There is a need for transparency,” said Gray’s spokesperson Doxie McCoy. “The contract is not a secret; the budget is not a secret.”
Gray’s attack was all about political ambitions. After all, schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee had scheduled, at his request, a briefing for the full council the next day-Tuesday. He actually believed there wasn’t money for the raises. That news would’ve fueled the perception that Fenty and Rhee can’t be trusted and would’ve jeopardized the contract’s ratification. A rejection would destroy a key plank in the mayor’s reelection platform. Gray is challenging Fenty in the Democratic Primary.
“The chairman doesn’t believe he’s undermined anything,” said McCoy. “If the city is in any position that would harm the contract, it’s not the chairman’s doing.”
Gray is only partially responsible. There’s a conspiracy. I reached that conclusion Tuesday after Rhee delivered the second blow to reform efforts.
She revealed a $34 million surplus would cover the pay increases. That money is the result of savings from firing 266 school workers last October. But DCPS’ finance chief had claimed there was a deficit in this year’s 2010 budget, prompting the reduction-in-force. The union unsuccessfully sued the city over the terminations. Now it appears the RIF may not have been necessary.
The answer for what actually happened last fall and how the DCPS has the surplus will come only after Gandhi completes his review of the pay plan for the $140 million contract.
Meanwhile, George Parker, the WTU president, is livid and threatening to take the city back to court. Rhee’s revelation doesn’t help his reelection bid; he faces a fierce challenger. Translation: there may not be an agreement between the union and the city.
That would give momentum to Gray’s moribund campaign. But it also would devastate many parents, who see the union contract as a critical step to enhancing the teaching corps, ensuring lasting improvements in the quality of education their children receive.
Jonetta Rose Barras, hosts of WPFW’s “D.C. Politics with Jonetta,” can be reached at [email protected]
