D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has used his line-item veto pen for the first time, striking from the adopted fiscal 2010 budget the D.C. Council-led conversion of the State Board of Education into an independent agency.

In a letter to Council Chairman Vincent Gray sent Thursday, Fenty said the state board must remain under Office of the State Superintendent for Education “where it appropriately belongs.” The board is tasked with approving statewide academic standards, analyzing educational policies and conducting research.