D.C. School Closings List Is Revised

By Theola Labbé and David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 2, 2008

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee gave a reprieve yesterday to six schools originally targeted in their school closing plan but added four new ones to the list.

Added are Benning Elementary and Merritt Middle in Northeast, both of which would close in June, and Garnet-Patterson Middle and Park View Elementary in Northwest, which would close by 2011 or later, the mayor said.

The schools no longer on the list are Bruce-Monroe Elementary in Northwest and John Burroughs and Smothers elementaries in Northeast; Ronald H. Brown Middle and Browne Middle, both in Northeast, and Shaw Middle in Northwest.

Fenty and Rhee said the revised plans were the result of hours of public comments from nine meetings and 23 public hearings since November. During those sessions, they were commended for seeking to pare down excess space in the 49,600-student school system, and they were the object of protests from parents who said the administration had overlooked safety issues and failed to consider the strength of academic programs.

The revised list reflects public feedback on the proposal but also is the result of Rhee's reexamination of the plan, said spokeswoman Mafara Hobson.

Fenty and Rhee did not give detailed reasons for adding or subtracting a school from the list. City education leaders previously have said that student enrollment and population trends were factors in the decision.

Unlike preceding school leaders, who proposed staggering closures over the next decade, Fenty and Rhee are sticking to their plans to shut 23 schools within a few years. Sixteen schools would close in June and seven closings would be spread over the next few years, Fenty said yesterday. More than 5,300 students attend the closing schools.

Officials have not announced what will happen to the schools, but Fenty said: "We will keep all the schools within the inventory of the D.C. government. We don't intend to sell any of them."

The revised plan drew fresh ire from parents with children at schools added to the list.

Yvette Moore, 41, who graduated from Merritt, as did her two older children, said she was considering sending her third child there but found it "amazing" to see the school on the to-be-closed list. She said it seems the school is being judged because of a few poorly performing students.

"I know a couple of kids are having some issues, but I'm still puzzled. It seems like most kids are doing okay," she said.

She said she does not like the idea of sending her son to Ronald H. Brown Middle School, the designated transfer school, which she said is in a dangerous neighborhood and is too far away for her son to walk there.

"With all the violence I've heard and seen on the news in that area -- Merritt wasn't having that type of violence," she said.

In an interview, Rhee said the revisions were more the result of individual arguments she heard in private meetings with parents and others than large community gatherings and demonstrations.

"None of the changes were driven by people coming out to big meetings," Rhee said. "The way that was more productive was when small groups came to me and said, 'Here are our concerns, here are our ideas.' "

For example, after D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and neighborhood leaders said Shaw's large campus could be a community resource, Rhee reversed course and proposed closing Garnet-Patterson instead of Shaw. Shaw's large athletic fields, she said, could attract students looking for activities and cut down on truancy.

But Florence Harmon, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the West End/Foggy Bottom neighborhood, where Stevens Elementary is located, said her arguments against closing the school went unheeded when she met with Rhee. Harmon said she cited its academic programs and historical importance to the community as the first school for freed slaves.

"They made the decision completely on enrollment. They didn't take into account the quality of the educational programs, because if they did, Stevens would still be open," Harmon said.

The new proposal calls for Benning students to move to Smothers Elementary in Northeast, while students from Merritt would go to Ronald H. Brown in Northeast. In Northwest, students from Garnet-Patterson would attend Shaw, and Park View students would attend Bruce-Monroe. All four receiving schools had been on the closing list proposed in November but were taken off under the new plan.

A public hearing on the proposal is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at McKinley Technology High School in Northeast.

Council members, who criticized Fenty and Rhee for not consulting with them before releasing their original proposal, were personally briefed by Rhee and Fenty on Thursday.

"Obviously it was difficult from the beginning because of a lack of communication, but the process got better as we went along," said Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D). "This sends a message that [the administration was] flexible."

Although council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said he was glad that Bruce-Monroe and Shaw in his district were spared, he said he would fight for Park View and Garnet-Patterson. "The squeaky wheel, the schools told that they were going to close, were obviously very convincing," he said. "We're going to make our case."

Park View is an anchor of the neighborhood, he said, and Garnet-Patterson was the first African American junior high school in the city.

Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said he still wants Rhee to take Bunker Hill Elementary and Backus Middle of the list and also M.M. Washington because it is the city's only vocational high school.

Thomas, who has pushed for more inclusion in the process, said he felt more "optimistic" about being heard by Rhee and Fenty.

"They kept us in the loop a lot better than they did before," he said.

Thomas said that will not deter him from going forward with legislation that would require more input from the public on school closures and council oversight of the disposal of school property.

Staff writers Michelle Boorstein, Nikita Stewart and Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report.