Though a majority of D.C. Council members flanked Mayor Adrian Fenty at his school takeover announcement Thursday, some council members and people close to the council have suggested there could be fissures over the bill.
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, has come out as the council’s loud opponent to the bill so far. He was not at Thursday’s press conference, which was attended by every other council member with the exception of Carol Schwartz, R-at large.
“Technically, I was not officially informed or invited,” Mendelson said. “I was aware of the press conference … I do not support us changing the [D.C.] charter, making [the Board of Education] a subordinate agency.”
Mendelson, whose daughter attends a public elementary school, said he recognizes a need for the system to change, adding “the mayor can do that without taking it over.”
“I think that what people are not seeing is this is not really about how to improve the schools, but rather a philosophy where one person can do it and everybody else can’t,” Mendelson said.
Schwartz did not return a phone call Friday. She has said previously that she is not sure whether she supports a mayoral takeover.
Councilman Kwame Brown, D-at large, has also said he’s “not 100 percent behind any plan.”
“Do I support the plan that was presented to me?” Brown asked. “No.”
Brown echoed Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s statements Thursday at the Fenty press conference, where Gray said he expects the legislation to be vetted through the hearing process. Gray said comments from those hearings would be a “litmus test” for his decision, suggesting he’s not 100 percent signed onto the plan.
“To me, the question remains, will our kids be better whatever changes we make?” Gray asked. He could not be reached Friday for further comment.
Mendelson said he fears the public argument sparked by the legislation will distract from “what’s really necessary,” including encouraging more parental involvement.
“The schools now become fodder in the give and take in the legislative process,” Mendelson said. “If anything, I think the continuing debate is destabilizing. It used to be the board of education was incompetent. I think the board of education for the last four or six years have been very competent.”
