DC Shenanigans

MANIFESTO

Having spent the last four days in the DC area, I heard a few things about the city's Superintendent of Schools, Michelle Rhee. Heretofore, while I thought the Dragon Lady would be challenging to work for, I thought her heart was more or less in the right place.

Now, though, juat as the Washington Teachers Union was prepared to sign a contract allowing 266 teachers to be laid off in the city, it turns out that DC schools have a $34 million budget surplus and not the $43 million deficit that Supt. Rhee projected a few months ago. Needless to say, the union

has asked a court to reopen its lawsuit against D.C. Public Schools over last fall's layoffs of 266 teachers, following questions about the system's budget.

To say that the superintendent's actions seem duplicitous is to give her more credit than she deserves, and I'm no longer entirely sure I'd enjoy working in a system she led.