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Apr 09, 2024

Lafayette Budget Advocacy 2024

Dear Lafayette community,

Your advocacy is urgently needed. For many schools across DCPS – including Lafayette – the Mayor’s proposed budget is woefully inadequate. It leaves schools without funds to cover their current staff and having to cut positions. 

There are two easy, time-sensitive actions we hope you’ll take right now to influence the budget process:

Costs have gone up, and this years’ budget does not cover those greater costs. The proposed DCPS budget therefore contains cuts — small increases in funding provided in the Mayor’s budget do not come close to covering the new required costs — for a majority of schools. If nothing is done, hundreds of our best teachers will be laid off at a time when we need to be working to retain teachers and staff. 

For Lafayette, this could mean the loss of eight positions across all teams and at least three classroom teachers. You can read more about anticipated impacts at our school here. 

The DC Council will be holding a budget oversight hearing for DCPS on April 4. You can register to testify live at the hearing (in person or virtually), or you &/or your student can submit written or voicemail testimony for the public record, at this link: https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/350  For help crafting your message, you can refer to Dr. B’s recent message about anticipated impacts at our school here, but we can and should advocate for an approach to public school funding that ensures that *all* schools have the resources they need to adequately educate their students.

 

Your advocacy now could help influence the budget process. Please sign the petition and share with other concerned parents/neighbors/citizens, then submit written testimony for the budget hearing. We have an opportunity to change the trajectory of school funding, but we need everyone’s voice! Together we can help ensure a bright future for all DCPS students!

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For more ways advocate for sensible school budgets, see our Advocacy page.

Info for a budget advocacy page

On this page you will find various avenues for budget-related advocacy, especially for any schools like Lafayette who are feeling concerned that their submitted budgets will not allow them to adequately serve their students and meet their CSP (Comprehensive School Plan) goals.

  1. Petition to restore funding to DCPS Schools

A quick action you can do is to sign this petition and share it with your school community: https://www.change.org/p/fully-fund-our-public-schools-fc17d362-3481-4811-8d20-8232207697d1

  1. Contacting your DC Council representative (and others)

We highly recommend that every LSAT send a message to your DC Council representative informing them about your submitted budget, especially any cuts you were forced to make for the coming school year. [Council has the final say on the budget and has indicated that they are planning to make sure schools get some additional funding, so this will help give them (a) reasons to do this and (b) the information they need to do it well.]

Here are things to consider covering in your message:

  • The number of positions your school cut in your submitted budget
  • The specific positions cut, or at least an overview of the types of positions being cut (for example “five subject teachers, two special education teachers, one arts teacher, two members of the academic support team, four members of the climate and culture team…”)
  • The expected impact of these cuts on student learning, engagement, belonging, support, attendance, or other CSP goals
  • How much money is needed to fund any additional positions that your school needs to adequately serve the students (you can find the cost for specific positions for the coming school year at https://dcpsbudget.com/budget-development-guide/additional-information/#Item_Catalog)

Here are people to consider including as recipients:

  1. Provide testimony for the Budget Oversight Hearing

The DC Council will be holding a budget oversight hearing for DCPS on April 3. You can register to testify live at the hearing (in person or virtually), or you can submit written or voicemail testimony for the public record, at this link: https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/350

Some tips on providing testimony:

  • Topics to cover are the same as in #2 above
  • If you want to testify live, you should register here ASAP. Check the box to testify on District of Columbia Public Schools. You don’t have to have your testimony written before you register — you can submit it the day of, or even after you testify. The sooner your register, the earlier you’ll be on the list, and these hearings can run for 12+ hours!
  • You will be given a limited time (probably 3 minutes) to speak, so make sure you plan what you want to say, practice so you know how long it takes, and pick 3-5 main points and be clear on what they are so you can highlight them if you have to cut it short. You *can* submit a longer written testimony for the record if you have more to say than fits in 3 minutes (though keep in mind that the more you write, the less likely it will all get read). 
  • If multiple people from your school will be testifying, try to coordinate so you are making the same key points.
  • Children are allowed to testify, so if you have a passionate student advocate, they can register and speak, and their testimony is always very impactful.
  • You will not be given a specific time window for your testimony. Instead, a day or two before the hearing, they will publish the Witness List on the hearing page. Check that to see what number you are on the list. They will start at #1 and work their way down the list throughout the day. If you aren’t available when they call you, there is no guarantee they will fit you in later, so do try to be ready. You can join the DCPS Parent Leaders WhatsApp at https://chat.whatsapp.com/KMCHTlYcKfq4rRJT0wmiyQ if you’d like to receive updates throughout the day about where they are on the witness list, which can be very helpful.
  • If you don’t want to testify live, you can (and should!) still submit written or voicemail-recorded testimony, which will be part of the public record. This remains open for 2 weeks after the hearing date. You can paste or upload written testimony here, or record a voicemail by calling 202-430-6948 (3 minutes max).
  1. Attend the WTU Rally on April 3

WTU is planning to hold a budget rally / solidarity event on April 3 in conjunction with the Budget Oversight Hearing. Details on timing, location, etc will be shared as they become available, so stay tuned!

  1. Touch base with Amelia French from Advocates for Justice and Education

For any parents who would like some assistance developing an advocacy agenda and/or crafting testimony to secure more funding for their child’s school, feel free to reach out to Amelia French from Advocates for Justice and Education. Email: amelia…@aje-dc.org / Phone: 202-678-8060, ext 109