Rhee's Plans Are Likely To Pass, Lawmakers Say

Thomas lobbied his colleagues at an administrative meeting yesterday and one-on-one with council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D).

Although some council members agree with Thomas's reasoning, the council is likely to approve Fenty's request with some minor tweaks offered by Gray, lawmakers said.

"This is one of those where there is no middle ground," Gray said. The chairman hopes his amendments will address Thomas's concerns about consistent personnel rules.

Rhee needs the power to fire the employees so she can carry out her plans, Gray said.

Joslyn Williams, president of the Washington Metropolitan Council of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement that he was disappointed with Gray's proposed changes. "Stripped of its superficial exclusions and ambiguity, Chairman Gray's proposal echoes the draconian reform bill championed by Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee."

Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), a former school board member who favors the bill, said the school system has for years had a militaristic setup with teachers and principals viewing the central office as their bosses. With Rhee's vision, the "central office needs to be more like customer service," he said. "It's a different model. It doesn't mean the central office is incompetent."

But some council members were sympathetic to the unions. "Firing people is not a panacea for improving . . . our schools," Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said. "I've seen it over and over again. You make it easy to fire people, and you fire good people."

At a hearing last month on the bill, however, several parents described their experiences with central office employees who bungled work orders and seemed uninterested in helping students.

Since that hearing, Rhee announced the potential closing of 23 schools. Unions have tried to unite with parents because both are upset that they had little or no input in developing that list.

Nathan A. Saunders, general vice president of the teachers union, walked with the Stevens protesters last night.

"Reform will be done with us, not to us," he said. "It's not true reform until it involves the stakeholders."

Staff writer Paul Schwartzman contributed to this report.