PERMANENT RECESS FOR A DOZEN DC SCHOOLS

DC BOE voted last night to accelerate the pace at which is will close public schools, the WaPo said. Instead of eliminating 250,000 square feet of space by September the BOE will eliminate 1 million square feet. The average DC school has about 75,000 square feet. To eliminate 1 million square feet, the system would have to close about 10 to 12 schools this year.

For too long, the DC public school system has been about jobs, not about education. The focus is on infrastructure and not on teaching children how to read, write and play video games. Plus, the DC population is declining and becoming less family oriented. The system lost 10,000 students over the past five years.

We ought to praise the BOE for its courage, but the decision is less about political will and more about economic reality. Teachers are about to get a raise and there is no money to pay so many teachers the higher salaries.