Foundations attach strings to funding for D.C. teacher pay
 DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee goes before the City Council, along with the comptroller, to discuss the recent messy layoffs in district public schools. (Bill O'leary - ) |
By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff WriterTuesday, April 27, 2010; 12:59 PM
Private foundations pledging $64.5 million for raises and bonuses in the District's proposed contract with the Washington Teachers' Union have attached a series of conditions to the grants, including the right to reconsider their support if there is a change in the leadership of the D.C. school system.
The leadership condition, set by the Walton Family Foundation, the Robertson Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the Broad Foundation, makes it clear that they are banking on Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee continuing in her post through the funding agreement's expiration in 2012.
"Implementing this contract will require significant support and leadership from DCPS' executive leadership," wrote Buddy D. Philpot, executive director of the Walton Family Foundation, in a March 17 letter to the D.C. Public Education Fund, the nonprofit group that coordinates private donations to the school system. "As such, the Foundation reserves the right to discontinue support for this initiative if there is a material change in DCPS' leadership."
Walton is the largest single donor to the contract, promising $25 million. Robertson has pledged $19.5 million; Arnold and Broad have pledged $10 million each.
The leadership contingency, which has never been publicly discussed, is certain to further complicate an already tangled set of circumstances surrounding thetentative labor agreement since it was announced April 7. Rhee has not said whether she will remain as chancellor should Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who appointed her in 2007, lose the Sept. 14 primary to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray.
Gray has sent mixed signals about whether he would retain Rhee if elected. He told reporters Saturday after his campaign kickoff speech that Rhee and the ongoing efforts to fix D.C. schools are not "inextricably tied."
"I voted for school reform before I even knew Michelle Rhee," Gray said. "We voted for a new governance approach several months before she came on board. There probably will be a lot of people that will ask me that question, but that is something
"Implementing this contract will require significant support and leadership from DCPS' executive leadership," wrote Buddy D. Philpot, executive director of the Walton Family Foundation, in a March 17 letter to the D.C. Public Education Fund, the nonprofit group that coordinates private donations to the school system. "As such, the Foundation reserves the right to discontinue support for this initiative if there is a material change in DCPS' leadership."
Walton is the largest single donor to the contract, promising $25 million. Robertson has pledged $19.5 million; Arnold and Broad have pledged $10 million each.
The leadership contingency, which has never been publicly discussed, is certain to further complicate an already tangled set of circumstances surrounding thetentative labor agreement since it was announced April 7. Rhee has not said whether she will remain as chancellor should Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who appointed her in 2007, lose the Sept. 14 primary to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray.
Gray has sent mixed signals about whether he would retain Rhee if elected. He told reporters Saturday after his campaign kickoff speech that Rhee and the ongoing efforts to fix D.C. schools are not "inextricably tied."
"I voted for school reform before I even knew Michelle Rhee," Gray said. "We voted for a new governance approach several months before she came on board. There probably will be a lot of people that will ask me that question, but that is something