Washington, D.C. - Mayor Muriel Bowser is facing intense scrutiny over her ten-year reign of "mayoral control" over the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). As dissatisfaction grows among residents, Congress sharpens its knives for a potential federal takeover.
For a decade, Bowser has held direct control over DCPS, a system plagued by persistent challenges despite Bowser’s promises of reform. Critics argue that the current system lacks essential democratic input and oversight, prioritizing political agendas over the well-being and academic success of students, particularly those in vulnerable lower-income communities where 1 in 3 children live in poverty.
Bowser has been described as being "drunk on power."
Despite the mayor's ambitious DCPS Capital Commitment Plans, critics say DCPS has grappled with dismal academic outcomes, corruption and ethical concerns, budgetary mismanagement, alarming rates of truancy and absenteeism, misguided initiatives that have had negative impacts, and ineffective leadership and “piss-poor leadership.”
Further adding to Bowser's woes, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a direct investigation into the Bowser’s alleged failure to adequately serve students with special needs or disabilities, highlighting a long and contentious history of noncompliance in educating its most vulnerable student population.
The US Department of Education should be highly wary of the potential tactics previously employed by the Bowser administration. Reports indicate that Mayor Muriel Bowser administration have used software to avoid preserving public records and bypass the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws. In response, Republican lawmakers have requested the D.C. Office of the Inspector General to review how extensively Mayor Bowser and other officials are evading public records requirements.
Recent D.C. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores offered a glimmer of improvement, but stark disparities persist. Only 12% of Black eighth graders in D.C. demonstrate proficiency in NAEP Reading and Math, compared to 81% of their White counterparts. Moreover, economically disadvantaged students scored a staggering 37 points lower than their more affluent peers, a gap that has remained stubbornly consistent since 2000.
These statistics echo warnings from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Commissioner Peggy G. Carr, who noted that overall student achievement has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with gains primarily driven by higher-performing students. Lower-performing students, particularly in reading, continue to fall further behind.
DC City Council Chair Phil Mendelson has emphasized the urgent need for ongoing oversight of D.C. schools, citing alarmingly high absenteeism rates, especially in schools east of the Anacostia River that serve a high proportion of low-income and at-risk students, with some reporting attendance rates as low as 40%. While DC Office of State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Mitchell claims a slight decline in chronic absenteeism, numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels, particularly starting in preschool.
However, the DC City Council stands accused of willful blindness and dereliction in its duty to vigorously champion the needs of vulnerable student populations, a damning indictment of its complicity in the crisis.
These myriad issues have led to accusations that Bowser's leadership has driven DCPS into a disastrous "race-to-the-bottom" trajectory. Some question whether Mayor Bowser and Chancellor Ferebee would be rated as ineffective if evaluated under the current controversial IMPACT system established by former DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Marlon Ray, a former DC Public School administrator, whistleblower, and Ward 8 resident, is a vocal critic of Mayor Bowser's authoritarian leadership and loyalty tests. Ray and co-plaintiff have filed a lawsuit against the Mayor, alleging wrongful termination.
In 2022, former DC Attorney General Karl Racine criticized the Bowser administration, stating, "In this government, loyalty matters more than expertise and competence,"
Ray alleges that the Bowser administration has cultivated a climate of pervasive fear, where principals, teachers, and staff are treated as powerless pawns, coerced into silence or facing the threat of retaliation if they dare to challenge the status quo.
According to Ray, the mayor has a history across government agencies of penalizing those who try to reveal misconduct within her administration, including restricting parental engagement in mandated education initiatives.
Ray states he and other administrators were dismissed after objecting to the mayor's intentional implementation of a harmful, neoliberal "woke" education initiative that disproportionately impacted vulnerable elementary children in struggling communities.
It looks like Ray’s case is headed for trial--after years of legal delays and entanglements with the DC Attorney General Office that represents mayor Bowser. He’s promising to expose the Bowser administration's harm forced upon its most vulnerable elementary children.
With public and congressional dissatisfaction reaching a fever pitch, and a decade of stark reminder of the challenges facing D.C.'s education system, the pressure is mounting on Mayor Bowser. The community and Congress are fiercely debating the merits of her continued mayoral control, as the district grapples with the urgent need for action to address the crisis facing D.C. public schools.
Many question whether continuing beyond Bowser’s decade-long path of failure is "the epitome of insanity,” while others unequivocally state, “Mayoral control has failed us, and it's time for a change."
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