A DECADE OF DECEPTION

Dear District Residents,

After 10 years of unchecked mayoral control of education, the District of Columbia mayor Muriel Bowser’s true legacy is a betrayal of the Black children who make up the majority DC Public/Charter Schools. The only honest grade for a tenure built on shiny empty buildings, hidden scandals, and left-behind students? 

A DISASTROUS D-

Mayor’s Success Spin? Pure Deception—Here’s the Brutal Truth:

• Headline lie: Boasts rising NAEP/PARCC scores, claims DC "outperforms similar states and is “fastest improving.”is profoundly misleading Source.

• Hidden reality: Averages are real but hide brutal truth about racial gaps—Black students in Wards 7/8 crushed in reading/math, miles behind whites.

• Segregated trap: Packed into under-resourced schools while "recovery"rhetoric sells the scam.

Culture of Data Manipulation

In 2018, multiple Washington Post articles alluded to a culture of "cooking the books," with quoted council members describing a mindset of doing "whatever it takes" to demonstrate improvements—even as students remained underprepared.

The Bowser administration drew criticism for generating intense pressure on rising test scores, graduation rates, and other metrics through a pervasive culture of fear and retaliation. With insufficient oversight, its educational leadership forced school principals into illegal acts. Unchecked data-driven reforms invite fraud, stalling real progress despite NAEP gains. This rang true, as #RelayGate began in 2017.

Shiny Buildings, Empty Promises

Under Bowser, D.C. has poured tens of millions into “shiny” new schools like Boone Elementary and Kimball Elementary with photo-opt-ready ribbon cuttings as proof of commitment to Wards 7 and 8—while families and staff are left with cracked foundations, design flaws, facility failures, missing technology, safety gaps, and hundred of thousands in stolen vital school resources by contractors.

Advocates have documented that schools in Wards 5, 7, and 8 were slated to lose teachers and key positions, forcing largely Black student bodies to make do with fewer adults and fewer supports—even as capital spending produces photo‑ready facilities.

#RelayGate: Hit Job on Wards 7/8 Black Elementary Students

Top principals fired for defying Relay. Thousands suffered. Watch: youtu.be/DFQjJ2V5e9Q

• Superintendent's $170K grift: Pocketed cash from Relay while on $195K DCPS salary, pressuring Black Title I schools to buy "services." Ethics violation proof.

• Fired for fighting back: Kimball Elementary (Ward 7, top PARCC scores, 4-star rating) principal axed for saying NO to Relay's failed experiments.

• Racial double standard: Unproven "no excuses" drills forced on low-income Black kids—affluent White schools exempt. Wealthy elites pull strings.

• Mayor’s deceptive spin: Citywide success hides Black students' trap—low scores, absenteeism, instability. Mayoral control = PR win, equity fail. News confirmation.

The Verdict: Failed Leadership

On the only scorecard that counts, saving Black children from systemic neglect, 10 years of Mayoral Control--widely criticized as undemocratic for bypassing the public and inviting outsized influence from wealthy special interests--has been a TOTAL FAILURE. Instead of closing gaps, they covered them up; instead of resourcing schools, they abandoned them. The promise was progress, but the reality is BETRAYAL.

The honest grade is a DISASTROUS D-.

The Next Mayoral Chapter

DC residents must demand the next chapter be written as follows:

• Full racial transparency

• Real accountability for corruption and retaliation

• Direct investment in Black communities whose children paid the highest price

Hold ALL candidates for all elected positions accountable.

Good Trouble

Dare to ignite good trouble. Defy their commands to shut up. My former colleagues and I refused to avert our eyes or be gagged when Black children were stripped of safety, dignity, and a future.

Sincerely,

M. Bradley Ray, M.Ed.

Former, DCPS Director, Strategy and Logistics

DCPS Whistleblower

Ward 8 Resident