Wilson High advocates score win on budget cuts

Last week, the DC Council passed the final budget for the next fiscal year – one that restores half of the per-student funding cut from the Bowser administration’s budget request. Advocates for Wilson are calling this a win – they had asked that $900,000 be returned to Wilson High’s budget, and that’s what they got.

Below are acknowledgments and thanks from Ruth Wattenberg, the Ward 3 representative on the DC State Board of Education, and the Wilson PTSO.
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The City Council adopted its final budget yesterday, and the full $900,000 requested by Wilson leaders is included! Not only that, but the Council made clear that these funds were allocated to DCPS in order to assure (along with another priority), that Wilson got this full amount.

Congratulations to all—and especially to CM Mary Cheh!

Thanks to all of you who phoned and emailed Chairman Grosso. Thanks to all the parent leaders across all the schools that feed into Wilson High School who mobilized their own school’s parents, wrote, and testified. Thanks to the ANC’s that passed resolutions, testified, and visited Council members. Thanks to Wilson PTSO president Kim Bayliss and LSAT chairman and Jeffrey Kovar – and to Wendy Jacobson who helped lead a parent mobilization effort at Wilson. Also kudos to the folks at Wilson who made the decision early on to make the “ask” only for one-half of the lost per student funding.

A special, special thanks goes to Councilmember Mary Cheh, who has been totally and effectively on this without a break since the cut was first announced. Thanks to her efforts, Chairman Mendelson totally understood the importance of the issue and really took it on himself to make sure the money was found to restore the funds. Thanks, Chairman Mendelson! Thanks as well to Education Committee Chair David Grosso, who was able to put some extra money into the Education Committee budget two weeks ago, without which it would have been much harder to reach full restoration. And we are all indebted to Matt Frumin, who launched the very successful petition campaign that many of you signed and circulated and, through all of this, has provided information and analysis that everyone has used so effectively.

A special note to current and future Wilson parents: We have every reason to feel fully confident about the future of our high school. It is unfortunate that we have had to deal with the challenges of the last few months. But I think it’s clear that between our very strong community and our committed city leaders, Wilson’s future as an increasingly excellent school is secure!

Congratulations and thanks again.

Ruth Wattenberg,
Ward 3 Member, DC State Board of Education
@ruth4schools
ruth4schools.com
[email protected]
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Dear Wilson Community –

On Wednesday the City Council adopted its final budget, which included funds that can be used to increase Wilson’s budget by $900,000 and to help other schools address their needs. While we are not at the end of this process yet, we believe we are making good headway.

Many of our elected officials have been instrumental in helping us get to this point:

Council Member Mary Cheh, who has been fully engaged and working tirelessly for Wilson since the cut was first announced ([email protected])

Chairman Phil Mendelson, who took it upon himself to make sure money was found that could enable restoration of Wilson’s budget. ([email protected])

Education Committee Chair David Grosso, who was able to put some extra money into the Education Committee budget two weeks ago, without which it would have been much harder to reach the $900,000 needed. ([email protected])

Mayor Bowser, who made known her support for getting needed funds for Wilson into the budget. ([email protected])

Ruth Wattenberg, Ward 3 representative to the State Board of Education, who has doggedly pursued this issue and kept us well informed ([email protected])

We’d also like to acknowledge the hard work of our school leaders, Kim Bayliss and Jeff Kovar, who have kept on top of the issue and continuously advocated for Wilson, and of former Wilson parent Matthew Frumin who has supported the effort in many ways in the past months. Finally, thanks to the local ANCs and Ward 3/Wilson Feeder Education Network, each of which submitted thoughtful letters and resolutions in support of restoring our budget.

Please take a moment to thank these folks for their support and efforts.
It is both an exciting and challenging time for Wilson. We look forward to working with Chancellor Henderson and DCPS as our new Principal comes on board. And, as the budget continues to move its way through the process, we will keep you informed and ask for any action that is needed.

Thank you again for your active interest and participation,

Wendy Jacobson, Diane Ross and Anita Seline
The Wilson PTSO Advocacy Committee