DC’s Rhee knew there wasn’t money to hire says aide.
Washington DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee was told by her finance guy that there wasn’t going to be enough money to hire new teachers. But she hired 900 new teachers last Spring anyway. And fired over 200 once the school year began. Why? It’s all part of Rhee’s grand plan to undermine seniority and tenure rights and bust the union.
That became clear today as Rhee was forced to testify before a city council hearing.
Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee was aware of a likely budget deficit as the school system continued to hire an unprecedented number of teachers this summer, a top Rhee deputy told the D.C. Council Thursday.
Noah Wepman, chief financial officer for the school system, acknowledged that the system was facing “spending pressures” in its 2009 budget caused by carrying an excessive number of teachers on the payroll. He said he told Rhee in July that the overspending — estimated then at between $12 million and 13 million — would have to be addressed with cuts in the 2010 budget that the council had passed. By the beginning of the school year in August, that amount grew to more than $20 million. Among the options discussed, he said, was a reduction in the teaching force.
UPDATE: Note comment section. I’m criticized for thinking this is a just a union busting strategy by Rhee and Mayor Fenty. The blogger thinks it is bigger than that; that it is a strategy aimed at total privatization of DC schools. I wouldn’t argue with that.
