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Parents from Wards 2, 3 and 4 join call to restore Wilson funding

April 11, 2015 by FHC

by Marlene Berlin

The fight to restore funding cut from the mayor’s proposed Wilson High School 2015-2016 budget now extends beyond current Wilson staff and parents, and Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh. A coalition of parent and community leaders from the elementary and middle schools that feed into Wilson has written DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson about how the more than 10 percent cut in per-pupil funding (a $1.8 million reduction) will impact the school program whose at risk students will number about one-third of the student population. They are asking that $900,000 be put back into Wilson’s budget.

Here is the letter from the Wilson Feeder Education Network:

April 10, 2015

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Dear Chancellor Henderson,

We, community leaders and other parents from all of the elementary and middle schools that feed into Wilson High School, are asking you to reconsider the drastic cuts in Wilson’s budget, amounting to a sizable drop in spending per student. With the school’s enrollment likely to reach around 1,900 students, almost a third of them at-risk, the substantial cut to its budget represents a more than 10 percent decline in funding per student.

Since Wilson serves a broad cross-section of the city’s youth, we believe that this step will have significant adverse effects. It will undermine the progress that DCPS has made under your leadership. It will undermine the Mayor’s planned improvements to education in the city. And it will undermine the substantial investment that families and community members are making in their local schools, not only at Wilson, but also at its feeder schools.

The impact of this loss of funds is real. Wilson will be left with significantly fewer teachers than needed. The number of students will balloon to as high as 40 in some classes. Needed support positions, such as college counseling, will be scaled back. Enrichment activities and access to advanced placement classes will be limited. Security of both students and staff may be comprised in a building designed for only 1550 students.

In particular, the cuts will hurt the students who are most vulnerable. Wilson serves an at-risk population that is as big or larger than the entire student population at most other high schools in the city. It is these students who will struggle the most in the face of dwindling resources. Larger class sizes will mean less attention when they need help. Fewer students will have exposure to advanced topics to help them prepare for college. And less support will result in fewer submitting applications to attend.

Moreover, the cuts will harm students from across the city. Although Wilson High School sits in Ward 3, it serves students from every zip code in the city, and almost half of the student body comes from outside of the school’s boundaries. These cuts will be felt across Rock Creek Park and east of the Anacostia River.

Finally, as parents with children who will be future Wilson students and who comprise families who reside inside and outside of the school’s boundaries, we are concerned that the cuts will undermine confidence in the city’s school system. The strength of elementary and middle schools depends on the confidence that families have in the schools into which they feed. Eroding that confidence will erode the progress that DCPS has made throughout the city. We fear that families will pull back from investing in Wilson’s feeder schools if they are concerned that the city will not provide a robust option for secondary school when the time comes. Instead, we hope that we can build on the improvements that the city has already seen to not only maintain and exceed the quality of Wilson, but to see that progress at every high school in the city.

We understand that the city and DCPS has many competing demands for its scarce resources. But we would note in closing that a cut of this magnitude – over 10 percent per student – is extremely difficult for any school to handle in a single year. It is for this reason that DCPS does not cut school budgets by more than 5 percent in any year. Wilson’s cut is over twice this size because of the sizable increase in expected enrollment. We ask that you consider raising Wilson’s budget by $900,000 this fiscal year. This increase would limit the decline in the school’s per pupil allocation and would mitigate the worst of the effects of the shortfall.

Thank you for your time and attention. We look forward to working with you, and, of course, would be happy to discuss the situation further.

Sincerely,

Tricia Braun
Co-Chair, Ward 3 – Wilson Feeder Education Network
PTA Co-President
Francis Scott Key Elementary School

Martha McIntosh
Co-Chair, Ward 3 – Wilson Feeder Education Network
HSA Co-President
Ben Murch Elementary School

Brian Doyle
External Communications, Ward 3 – Wilson Feeder Education Network
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Karin Perkins
Internal Communications, Ward 3 – Wilson Feeder Education Network
LSAT Chair
Alice Deal Middle School

Caitlin Oppenheimer
Treasurer, Ward 3-Wilson Feeder Education Network
Stoddert Elementary School

Marcio Duffles
PTO President
Hardy Middle School

Dionne Moore
PTO Vice President
Hardy Middle School

Maria Luisa Rossel
PTO Board Member
Hardy Middle School

Tracey Duffles
Hardy Middle School

Fred Truslow
Hardy Middle School

Claudia Oglialoro
Hardy Middle School
Horace Mann Elementary School

Matteo Iacoviello
Hardy Middle School
Horace Mann Elementary School

Tonija Hope Navas
PTO President
Bancroft Elementary School

Deidre Swesnik
HSA Co-President
John Eaton Elementary School

Karen Robinson-Ogbebor
HSA Co-President
John Eaton Elementary School

Ed Dieterle
LSAT Chair
John Eaton Elementary School

Elizabeth Stuart
PTA Co-President
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Dina Dajani
PTA Co-President
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Jacqui Allen-Settles
PTA Vice President
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Craig Cunningham
PTA Board Member
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Keri Sikich
PTA Board Member
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

John Bernards
PTA Board Member
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

David Dickinson
LSAT Member
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

John Settles
LSAT Member
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Jennifer Leonard
LSAT Member
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Andrew T. “Chip” Richardson, III, Esq.
PTA President
Hyde-Addison Elementary School

Mary Anne Sacdalan
PTA Board Member
Hyde-Addison Elementary School

Nora Cameron
PTA Board Member and past LSAT Co-Chair
Hyde-Addison Elementary School

Jennifer Del Guercio
Janney Elementary School

Sara Tobin
Janney Elementary School

Carol McGiffert
Past PTA President
Janney Elementary School

Neha Shah
LSAT Member
Janney Elementary School

Lauren Case
LSAT Member
Janney Elementary School

Katie Fox
LSAT Member
Janney Elementary School

Naomi Mezey
LSAT Member
Janney Elementary School

Hugh Morris
LSAT Member
Janney Elementary School

Sam Serebin
LSAT Member
Janney Elementary School

Meg Leahy
PTA Co-President
Horace Mann Elementary School

Mark Miano
PTA Co-President
Horace Mann Elementary School

Maggie Gumbinner
HSA Co-President
Ben Murch Elementary School

Beth Colleye and other members
LSAT Co-chair and members
Ben Murch Elementary School

David Troy
Ben Murch Elementary School
Alice Deal Middle School

Ashby Mims
PTA Co-President
Francis Scott Key Elementary School

Philip Moeller
LSAT Representative
Francis Scott Key Elementary School

Colleen Crino
Francis Scott Key Elementary School

Hope Scheller
HSA Co-President
Lafayette Elementary School

Laura Lindsley
HSA Co-President
Lafayette Elementary School

Jenny Backus
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Josh Gordon
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Kristin Willsey
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Keith Jones
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Shannon Behm
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Chris Lisi-Frillici
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Stacy Beck
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Eve Bennett
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Marek Gootman
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Beth Taubman
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Janine Finck-Boyle
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Jen Lanoff
HSA Board Member
Lafayette Elementary School

Ed Pagano
Lafayette After School Program
Lafayette Elementary School

Jared Cohen
LSAT Parent Representative
Lafayette Elementary School

Eden Burgess
LSAT Parent Representative
Lafayette Elementary School

Vonda Orders
LSAT Parent Representative
Lafayette Elementary School

Kerrie Bouker
LSAT Parent Representative
Lafayette Elementary School

Tom Martella
LSAT Community Representative
Lafayette Elementary School

Andrea DelVecchio
PTO Chair
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School

Maria Elena Nawar
LSAT Chair
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School

David Trimble
PTA President
Shepherd Elementary School

Keith White
LSAT Chair
Shepherd Elementary School

Leigh McKenna
PTA Co-President
Stoddert Elementary School

Mary Clare Claud
PTA Co-President
Stoddert Elementary School

Cc: Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmember Anita Bonds, Councilmember David Grosso, Councilmember Vincent Orange, Councilmember Elissa Silverman, Councilmember Yvette Alexander, Councilmember Charles Allen, Councilmember Mary Cheh, Councilmember Jack Evans, Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, and Councilmember Brianne Nadeau.

—
Ward 3-Wilson Feeder Education Network
Follow us at @W3EdNet and https://www.facebook.com/W3EdNet

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