Letter to DC Council Chair Asking to Restore Teacher Positions in FY25 Budget

The School Without Walls Home and School Association

The Honorable Phil Mendelson

Chairman

Council of the District of Columbia

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504

Washington, DC 20004

 May 1, 2024

Dear Chairman Mendelson:

On behalf of our community of nearly 600 students and their families—who come from every ward across the city—parent representatives of the School Without Walls High School (SWWHS) Local School Advisory Team (LSAT) and the Home & School Association (HSA) respectfully request that the Council uphold the Schools First in Budgeting law and fund our city’s public schools as the law requires. We have been encouraged to hear directly from you, your staff, and other members of the Council that there is strong support for Schools First and for funding all schools per the law. 

Under Schools First, budgets must keep up with increased costs and schools must not have a reduction in the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) if there is no reduction in enrollment. Enrollment at School Without Walls is stable. In fact, we are projected to add students next school year. Given that we will not have lower enrollment, the law requires that we not lose any FTEs. In short, imposing staffing cuts without a reduction in enrollment is a violation of the law. It is our understanding–and our school’s experience–that Schools First covers all positions in schools. In fact, funding to restore a social worker position in SY23-24 was allocated to SWWHS under Schools First. 

At SWWHS, we are facing a budget shortfall in SY24-25 amounting to two full-time positions and other expenses. Based on the budget the Mayor submitted to the Council on April 3, this means cutting a world language teaching position and our only theater arts teaching position. Dozens of SWWHS students and parents from across the city testified at the Committee of the Whole hearing on April 4 on the vital importance of the arts and studying languages for students’ sense of belonging, engagement, and academic achievement. 

We are asking for an additional $235,210 in our SY24-25 budget to ensure we can retain all teaching positions. We are not seeking new resources beyond what is required to maintain our operations and deliver the same level of service as this year, to a projected greater number of students, which amounts to $2.17 per student, per school day. 

We also ask that you and Councilmembers share publicly and often your intent to make SWWHS’s–and all schools’–budgets whole. This will help reassure schools, teachers, students, and parents that these positions will be restored and schools will remain whole next school year.

Thank you for your consideration.