DC SATURDAY

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL MESS

IF MICHELLE RHEE treats the city council and her own headquarters employees with such contempt, what does this say about the future for mere school children?

One of the things education is meant to do - beyond passing some tests dreamed up by George Bush's corporate pals - is to train the young in how to deal responsibly, fairly and maturely in the adult world. Repeatedly dissin' the city council and sending off just fired employees under armed police guard is not a particularly good example.

Not only is it a poor model for the children, it is hard to see how anyone looking for a career in public education would be encouraged to look into the DC system now that it is being run in such a blowhard fashion.

WASH POST - Ninety-eight D.C. school system employees were fired yesterday as part of Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's effort to establish a "culture of accountability" by sweeping out unproductive and unneeded workers at the central office. The terminations were the first mass firings in about a decade, and Rhee indicated they might not be the last. . .

One senior manager, a five-year veteran of the school system, said that Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson stepped into his office about 1 p.m. and told him he was dismissed. She said, " 'I have some bad news -- you're being terminated,' and handed me a letter. I asked her what was the reason for the termination, and all she said was, the personnel act allows it," said the man, who asked not to be identified.

The man said he asked whether he could notify his staff but was told he could not. He said he was told to "get my personal stuff and leave," he added. "I was out of the office in 20 minutes."

The fired workers will be on paid administrative leave until March 22, the letter says. They were told to collect their belongings and were escorted out of the headquarters, at 825 North Capitol St. NE, by police officers and security guards. . .

As one of the fired workers left the system's headquarters, he said that "a lot of those persons who should have been dismissed are still up there." He and other fired employees who were contacted refused to provide their names or requested anonymity, fearing that their remaining pay would be jeopardized. The fired worker said he thought that the central office had become a "toxic" environment since Rhee announced the job action late last year.


A $40 MILLION SWEETHEART DEAL AS SCHOOLS CLOSE

THE city's $40 million sweetheart deal with NPR - following on the heels of another with Radio One - makes it clear that Fenty keeps two sets of books: one for citizen-related matters like public schools and another for his business pals. It would be nice if some city councilmember demanded a breakdown of how many NPR employees actually live in the city. But since that isn't likely, your editor would like to propose that the city subsidize him to the tune of $66,667 to stay in DC for another ten years. That's my per capita share of what the city will be giving NPR. And if you don't think I deserve it, then demand it for yourself. You surely do. - Sam Smith


BEST LOCAL STORY IN A LONG TIME

ROSES TO MIKE DEBONIS OF CITY PAPER, who has made up for his normally turgid approach to local affairs with the results of a record request for all contacts between top Fenty officials and the Washington Post during 2007. What came through was a myth-popping collection of the Post playing its front role as objective journalists even as it was messing with the story. Not only does DeBonis deserve a Pulitzer for this one; the Post should be made to give at least three back. Here are a few of the choice bits:

||| As much as a week before the Rhee announcement,[David] Nakamura was inside the mayor's deliberations on the schools leadership. Like a true beat reporter, he was even protecting his sources from other sharks in the roiling and vast waters of the Washington Post. On June 7, Nakamura sent this note to Brooks: "fyi, bewteen us, . . . jo-ann armao was about to crush you guys for picking [rudolph]crew. i called off the attack."

Brooks' reply: "Thanks!!"

Jo-Ann E. Armao is the Post's top editorial board expert on education and D.C. issues. So much for that vaunted news-editorial firewall. . .

About an hour after sending word of his politicking at the editorial board, Nakamura e-mailed Brooks again, this time asking for "an acceptable way for us to write a story that rules crew out"-indicating that he already had knowledge from the mayor's office that Crew was out of the picture. . .

The next day, around noontime, Armao had some pertinent questions for Brooks: "1. her age. 2. where is she from originally 3. do you know how many employees there are in dc schools and 4. is klein still the only person to talk to? And, anything else I should know...... I might call [Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso] in a bit." Brooks' responses to those queries clearly refer to Rhee.

Let's pause for a second on No. 4. By asking whether Klein is "still the only person to talk to," Armao hints at the contours of the exclusivity deal driven by the Fenty people vis-à-vis the Post. "Klein," in this context, is Joel I. Klein, the New York City schools chancellor and a consigliere for the Fenty leadership search. Judging from the news story, it appears that the Fenty press people told the Post they could use only Klein as an outside source on the Rhee selection; Armao confirms that the terms of the Fenty administration's embargo limited which outside sources the Posties could contact. . .

On Jan. 31 of last year, Nakamura e-mailed Brooks with this jokey breaking news: "Fenty is really putting [DCWatch maven Dorothy Brizill] in her place....priceless!" "I had nothing to do with it," she fired back. "Good grief," Nakamura quipped, "these regular citizens asking questions has got to stop!" Replied Brooks, "I agree. But he's a man of the people."


FENTY SCARES OFF ANOTHER ONE

WASH POST - The District's housing chief has resigned one year into her job, saying the Fenty administration has sidelined her role and failed so far to focus on a long-term affordable housing strategy. In a Feb. 29 resignation letter, Leslie A. Steen said the administration was "not taking a strategic approach" to the creation of affordable housing and mixed-income, diverse neighborhoods across the city. Steen, referring to her boss, Neil O. Albert, the deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said he was instead "focused on the achievement of specific projects." She also wrote that Albert had maintained direct control of the city's various housing agencies, rarely involving her and "leaving this position marginalized with no authority to assure change."


DC SHORTS

A SIGN in One Judiciary Square says that Orkin Services will "be exterminating the entire buiding Saturday, March 8th. . . Thank you for your understanding and continued patience as we work to keep One Judiciary Square looking its best."

RALPH SCOTT, ALLIANCE FOR HEALTH HOMES (in letter to the Wash Post) - One thing remains unchanged four years after [the lead in the water] crisis became news: the failure of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority to level with the public. The authority touts its compliance with federal lead-safety standards as proof that the problem has been solved. The Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate samples that come out of the tap after the water has been running awhile; such samples are more representative of the water we drink and cook with. If the EPA did, in late 2007 our water would have failed to meet federal standards. The new chemical treatment helps control soluble lead, but not lead particles, which pose the greatest health risk.

DC EXAMINER - D.C. school officials have spent $14.5 million this school year to modernize buildings that will close before summer, according to documents from the school system's facilities office. School activists criticized the waste of precious dollars on upgrades to sites destined to be shut down. "This was not a wise use of funds," said Marc Borbely, a former D.C. teacher who runs a Web site devoted to school facility topics. "This irresponsible spending is further evidence that the school closings are not about saving money."

DC'S NEW SMART BIKE PROGRAM

BIKE SHARING - This will likely be the first 3rd generation (high-tech) bike-sharing program in North America. The pilot will include 120 bikes, 10 stations. . . The annual membership fee is likely to be $39 and the first 3 hours of each rental will be free. This fee seems reasonable, however, with 3-hr rentals, turnover and therefore ridership will be limited as individuals will likely keep the bikes longer.

The proposed station locations include: Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, U Street, Shaw, Mt. Vernon Square, Metro Center, Logan Circle, McPherson Square, and Gallery Place. The District Department of Transportation has produced a map of the proposed locations for more detail. . .

DC CITY DESK STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

We believe in treating our leaders as well our students; hence the exclusive DC City Desk Standardized Test Scores. Note: Scores are for this season only.

Michelle Rhee loses two points for not presenting her budget in the proper fashion and three points for expanding the corporatization of the public schools.

She loses another two points for the crass way she fired the first 98 staffers

Fenty loses a point for wrongly firing the six social workers

Fenty loses a point for his sweetheart subsidy deal with NPR

City council gains one point for approving sick leave legislation

DC Department of Transportation gains two points for its smart bike program

Fenty loses 3 points for attempting to undermine the Second Amendment by getting the Supreme Court to go along with the unconstitutional DC gun ban

The city council loses one point for another anti-cab law, this one restricting cab cruising in Adams Morgan at peak party hours. Cabs will have to wait at a central location.

DC Recreation gains a point for trying to expand hours at its centers. It needs funding in the budget.

Youth rehabilitation direction Vincent Shiraldi gains two for its efforts to improve Oak Hill