Senate unanimously approves D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s school takeover legislation
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty’s school takeover legislation after a hectic day of negotiations with city officials, leaving the mayor one signature away from taking control of the troubled public education system. President Bush could sign the bill by the end of the week. However, a new obstacle to the mayor’s plan emerged when the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled in favor of a city resident who is seeking to force a referendum on the legislation. According to elections board spokesman William O'Field Jr., Mary Spencer, who has grandchildren in the public school system, will have a chance to collect the roughly 20,000 signatures of registered voters she would need for a referendum. If she is successful, the takeover could be placed on the ballot for an August special election that has been scheduled to fill an open school board seat. Mayor Fenty said in a statement the city intends to challenge the elections board's ruling in court.
The takeover plan encountered relatively smooth sailing in the D.C. Council and the U.S. House of Representatives, but entered rockier waters in the Senate. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) held up the legislation after D.C. Board of Education President Robert C. Bobb raised the issue of whether the city's state education functions would have enough autonomy from the rest of the school system. Sen. Landrieu lifted the hold after receiving assurances from Mayor Fenty that he and Mr. Bobb would find a resolution after the mayor took over the schools. However, Senator Carl M. Levin (D-MI) then placed a hold on the legislation in attempt to get the city to resume negotiations over the senator’s long-standing push to have meters installed in city’s taxicabs. That hold was removed after Senator Levin spoke with Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).
Washington Post
By David Nakamura
[Full story]
[Editor’s Note: For background see below.]
[NSBA School Law pages on D.C. mayoral takeover]