A fight appears to be developing in Ward 2 over the future of public schools in that wealthy part of town. Some parents want to end the practice of out-of-boundary enrollment. Their position is better summed up by the slogan “Ward 2 schools for Ward 2 kids.”  But other parents, many of whom are black or Hispanic, assert their children would be adversely affected by such a policy.

Ground zero appears to be Hardy Middle School, located at 34^th and Wisconsin Ave. The building is brand new—although it took years and the involvement of Allen Lew, the city’s school facilities czar, before the renovations were completed.

“I think it’s the new building,” one source, who requested anonymity, said, explaining that the renovations have given Hardy the feel of a private school.  “And then there is the recession. People who once sent their children to private schools can’t afford that any more.”

Leadership could be another reason. A very skillful and talented principal, Patrick Pope, has guided Hardy for more than a decade. TBR has followed his work at the school. Even when the system seemed to be falling down, Hardy was a beacon and a guide for what could happen when a school is put in the right hands.

Candy Miles Crocker, one of several parents TBR talked to about the controversy, was upset about any potential changes at the school. Two of her children once attended Hardy; the third currently is in the sixth grade there.

“It has great leadership; great teachers; and a great parent body, said Crocker, telling the story about her oldest child, who was in special education. He had a comprehension problem called “receptive language deficit.” That child is now in high school.

“[The school] did an excellent job of preparing him,” she continued. The school works, she said, because of Pope. “He is a man with a vision for the school; he cares about the children; and he knows every child in that building.”

So why, asked Crocker and other parents, would Chancellor Michelle Rhee want to mess with that?

“She should use it as a model for other schools,” said another parent, who also requested anonymity.

Some parents accused Rhee of acquiescing to the demands of those Ward 3 parents who are ready to expel students from other parts of the city. They claimed that she has been meeting with parents—most of whom are white– at other schools but has failed to talk with the parent-leadership at Hardy.

‘She had a meeting with a group of parents at Key. We understand she told them that Hardy will be a neighborhood school.”

Jennifer Calloway, the chancellor’s spokeswoman, told TBR Hardy already is a neighborhood school. “But because it doesn’t always fill up with neighborhood kids it has a really robust out-of-boundary process.”

She confirmed that Rhee has met with parents from “feeder schools,” including Mann, Key and Hyde. “The chancellor will meet with any group of parents when she is invited.” 

Calloway said Rhee has attended a couple of open houses at Hardy, but hasn’t been invited by parents to meet with them. She said the discussion with parents whose children attend the feeder school has been about Hardy. “She wants to try to encourage parents to keep their kids in DCPS.”

As for Pope, Calloway said the “chancellor and central office have been in consultation with Mr. Pope about the direction of the school. To date Mr. Pope, from what I understand, has been extremely supportive of all the ideas.”

But many parents said they would fight any effort to remove Pope, who is considered the fuel for that aggressive out-of-boundary program, which resulted this year in the school exceeding projected enrollment by 100 students. Those numbers meant Hardy didn’t lose any teachers in the recent reduction-in-force.

“Why reinvent the wheel when you have a successful program,” asked Crocker about the chancellor’s plan of removing Pope as principal of Hardy.

With its racial and class overtone, the fight over the future of Ward 3 schools has the potential of dividing Rhee’s base of supporters. That would be dangerous not just for her but also for the entire education reform effort.

FORTUNATELY, the battle over Ward 2 schools has been overshadowed by the fight over the firing of more than 300 DCPS workers.

A daylong D.C. Council roundtable Thursday was ugly. It was filled with name-calling, butt covering, displays of indisputable ineptitude and political posturing.

Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi, true to form, sidestepped council questions about actions taken by his subordinates and refused to provide information about why the school system faced “spending pressures” near the end of fiscal 2009. Neither he nor Noah Wepman, the DCPS financial officer, offered an opinion about other options Rhee could have taken to address budget woes going into fiscal year 2010.

Some council members pretended not to know that in years past, the executive has moved funds around from one line item to another after the budget was passed. They also didn’t acknowledge that the council consistently has approved such reprogramming of funds. Instead, legislators sought to castigate Rhee when she said she intended to ensure a fully funded summer school program, despite the council’s cut of $9.1 million. That prompted some to accuse of her of taking illegal actions, although summer school is months away and she is not required to submit the reprogramming at this time.

In other words, as expected, the hearing was an occasion for great fiction and high drama. More of the same will occasion other hearings from now through the 2010 September Primary.

The council chairman and one at-large councilmember want to replace Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. The chairman pro tempore and perhaps as many as two other legislators have publicly announced they will run for council chairman, if the chairman runs for mayor. Then, there are the others simply running for reelection—at least one of those has been tarnished slightly by a federal investigation that ensnared his chief of staff.

Thursday’s drama was aided by the appearance in chamber on the fifth floor of the John A. Wilson Building of union members and other anti-reformers—call them Rhee haters. Parents and children wearing kids first T-shirts also were present—call them Rhee lovers.

The union already has filed a lawsuit. It also has asked the court to issue a temporary injunction to stop Rhee and Fenty from fully implementing their reduction-in-force, which becomes final Nov. 7. A court hearing has been scheduled for Thursday Nov. 5.

Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said in the city’s response to the union’s temporary injunction filing that such action, if granted would “deny the chancellor the ability to manage the workforce…consistent with budgetary limitations, the Anti-Deficiency At, and the needs of students.

Moreover, he warned the court that its actions would be a “zero sum decision.

“If DCPS is not allowed to proceeds with the RIF on the timeline it has set, other cuts must (his emphasis) be made.

“Any injunction,” he continued “would interfere with the executive discretion to determine the need for and timing of a RIF, as well as the Chancellor’s authority to set educational policy and would substitute the Court’s judgment on budgetary priorities for that of the chancellor.”

Nickles, Fenty and Rhee have a lot riding on the court’s decision regarding the temporary injunction. A loss will weaken the executive and set the stage during the next year for even more assaults against the mayor and chancellor. Further, it could spell the return of more than 300 school employees. That would create even more friction in the school system, and the gains Rhee has made would be for naught, as frustrated parents pull their children out of DCPS and place them in charter schools. The full destruction of traditional public schools wouldn’t be far behind.

SIDESHOWS AND SOUVENIRS

NICKLES and the mayor have reason to hope. In the last two weeks they have won in two legal contests.

The D.C. Contracts and Appeals Board ruled the administration did not break any procurement rules when it selected Whiting-Turner to construct the multimillion-forensics lab. Tompkins Builders had claimed violation of the laws; its bid was $5 million less than the one offered by Whiting-Turner. Further, Tompkins is a District-based firm, while the other company is based in Baltimore.

Saving taxpayers a bunch of money and working with a local firm was of little import to the appeals board.

And, daycare workers at the Department of Parks and Recreation lost the first round in their battle to be reinstated.

Their union, American Federation of Government Employees Local 2741 had asserted that the more than 100 workers had been wrongly determined. They accused the executive of breaching its contract with the employees.

But, Judge Thomas Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the suit, asserting that the claim didn’t belong in federal court. He said the city’s actions did not amount to a constitutional violation, as it did not “shock the conscience.”

Donald Temple, the union’s lawyer, has promised to resubmit the lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court. That is where the teacher’s union filed its complaint, adding some credence to the assertion by Ward 5 Councilman Thomas that the Fenty administration manages through litigation.

TBR should mention that the AG did not lose his fight with city auditor Deborah Nichols over the release of files associated with two development corporations. In other words, the administration shouldn’t let two victories go to its head.

The Barras Report is an opinion column published weekly except during July and August. The views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of JroseMedia LLC, which owns and operates jrbarras.com. All rights are reserved. Requests for reprints must be submitted to Jrosemedia@aol.com. Readers are invited to submit responses to the column at jrosemedia@aol.com; all letters will be published the following week.