Fenty to Name Ally To Lead Turnaround

D.C. Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty plans to appoint Board of Education member Victor Reinoso today as his deputy mayor for education, a key post in Fenty's potential bid for control of the struggling 58,000-student school system.

Under the school governance model he is considering, Fenty (D) would make the school board an advisory panel and create a Department of Education overseen by Reinoso. The school superintendent would report to Reinoso, who, in turn, would report to Fenty.

Fenty is leaning toward retaining Superintendent Clifford B. Janey under this scenario, said an authoritative source on the transition team, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans were still being formulated. A mayoral takeover would require approval by the D.C. Council as well as Congress and President Bush.

Reinoso, 37, won the District 2 seat on the school board two years ago with a strong endorsement from Fenty, the Ward 4 council member. The second Latino to win a major elected post in the city, Reinoso has two years remaining in his term, but he will step down, sources said.

Reinoso has been part of team of advisers helping Fenty for several weeks to develop a detailed takeover plan, which is expected to be delivered to the council next month. James H. Shelton III, an official with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and several education consulting firms also are advising Fenty.

Fees for the firms could be more than $100,000 and will be paid with private donations, Fenty said.

Fenty, expected to make an official announcement at a news conference this morning, considers Reinoso one of the board's "most aggressive voices for change," a source said. For example, Reinoso, like Fenty, has been critical of the pace of Janey's master facilities plan, which proposes closing some schools over 13 years. This month, he sent a 15-page letter to Janey on the facilities plan, citing the lack of high-quality middle schools in his district as a reason for children leaving the system. Reinoso also served on a special education task force on the board.

He did not return several telephone messages this week.

"He has been one of those who has pushed the agenda forward, whether it's about student achievement or fixing our buildings," said council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), chairman of the education committee.

At a school board meeting last night, Janey said of Reinoso, "I expect he'll hit the ground running with his experience as an education steward."

School board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz, who will be replaced by Robert C. Bobb in January, described Reinoso as "smart and contemplative but decisive."

But Iris Toyer, president of Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools, questioned whether Janey would feel comfortable reporting to Reinoso.

"If I were the superintendent, I would want the sense that whoever I report to knows more than I do," Toyer said. "Frankly, I'm not sure if you talk about the superintendent of D.C. public schools reporting to Victor Reinoso that, that is the case."

Reinoso, who lives with his wife and two children in Takoma Park, works as director of education initiatives at the Federal City Council, an organization of business leaders.

His appointment would complete Fenty's top-level Cabinet members. The others are City Administrator Dan Tangherlini, Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi, chief of staff Tene Dolphin, Attorney General Linda Singer, general counsel Peter J. Nickles, deputy mayor for economic development Neil O. Albert and communications director Carrie Brooks.

Emily DeCicco, who helped manage Reinoso's campaign for school board, said he would be an ideal match for Fenty.

"Victor is well-prepared for the get-it-done, make-it-happen Fenty administration," she said.