Mary Cheh issues statement about school boundary/feeder right proposals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Mary Cheh!

I want to like Mary Cheh but experience with her had been that she's good on lip service but very bad on delivery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see a lot of specifics in what she's saying.

Neighborhood kids to neighborhood schools? Is there a change in Ward 3 that couldn't be characterized that way? There's not a whole lot of neighborhood kids at Eaton or Oyster, Key kids can still go to a nearby school, just not the one they used to.

Grandfathering? Everyone knows there's going to be grandfathering.

My prediction is she declares victory when grandfathering is announced and waves as the boundary changes go by.

Yes, the change in the Murch boundary is very much a change in neighborhood kids not going to Neighborhood schools. Kids who live a block or two from Murch who are currently inbounds for Murch will now walk a little under a mile to Hearst under all three proposals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see a lot of specifics in what she's saying.

Neighborhood kids to neighborhood schools? Is there a change in Ward 3 that couldn't be characterized that way? There's not a whole lot of neighborhood kids at Eaton or Oyster, Key kids can still go to a nearby school, just not the one they used to.

Grandfathering? Everyone knows there's going to be grandfathering.

My prediction is she declares victory when grandfathering is announced and waves as the boundary changes go by.

Yes, the change in the Murch boundary is very much a change in neighborhood kids not going to Neighborhood schools. Kids who live a block or two from Murch who are currently inbounds for Murch will now walk a little under a mile to Hearst under all three proposals.

but only under 1 proposal are they guaranteed to not have to travel 8 miles to go to high school!

[Anonymous]

And that is not an effect?

[Anonymous]

Has Cheh put this statement on her site, said to a paper? A forum other than here might apply more pressure to Bowser and Catania to state their positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Ward 4 and I expect Bowser to make a statement too. I don't care that she's running for mayor...she's still my rep. And Catania needs to make his position clear too. You can't chair the Ed Committee and NOT ring in on these proposals.

Bowser's statement will be as vague as possible, she's searching for support east of the river. Fortunately she's got race and the Dem machine on her side. Catania's position is going to be the most interesting and complex. He's smarter than Bowser and Gray combined (though so is my cat). He's certainly the most informed about Education and attuned to the differences between charters and DCPS. He's probably unelectable, being white, gay, and non-Dem, but I'll vote for him anyway. Cheh is like an exotic plant, she couldn't survive outside of Ward 3.

Wow, that's a not so subtle dog whistle there. Agree with 11:54, Gray may have bungled his rep and political future if it is ever proven that he engaged in the shadow campaign. That said, Gray, Mendelson, Catania, Cheh, Evans - all four are quality, engaged, knowledgeable pols.

There's nothing subtle in my assertion that large swaths of DC will vote against Catania because he is A) white, B) gay, and C) not a Democrat. I'm openly calling out the city on its biases, and I'm not afraid to say so. The racists, homophobes, and closedminded Democrats-uber-alles voters of this city absolutely cannot and will not open their eyes to the fact that he is far more competent than his opponent. DC likes to think it cares about diversity, but it does not and just wait until the general election for proof.

Whether Cantania is competent or not is your opinion, not fact. Before he was "The Education Champion!" he was "The Healthcare Champion!" and the city hasn't exactly made great strides in that area either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Mary Cheh!

I want to like Mary Cheh but experience with her had been that she's good on lip service but very bad on delivery.

We had the opposite experience. Our neighborhood had a problem related to road paving, and she became our champion, and didn't let city staff rest until the issue was fixed. No one here is a big donor or similar...so we were surprised and impressed by her level of care and follow-up. She can count on our votes.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Ward 4 and I expect Bowser to make a statement too. I don't care that she's running for mayor...she's still my rep. And Catania needs to make his position clear too. You can't chair the Ed Committee and NOT ring in on these proposals.

Bowser's statement will be as vague as possible, she's searching for support east of the river. Fortunately she's got race and the Dem machine on her side. Catania's position is going to be the most interesting and complex. He's smarter than Bowser and Gray combined (though so is my cat). He's certainly the most informed about Education and attuned to the differences between charters and DCPS. He's probably unelectable, being white, gay, and non-Dem, but I'll vote for him anyway. Cheh is like an exotic plant, she couldn't survive outside of Ward 3.

Wow, that's a not so subtle dog whistle there. Agree with 11:54, Gray may have bungled his rep and political future if it is ever proven that he engaged in the shadow campaign. That said, Gray, Mendelson, Catania, Cheh, Evans - all four are quality, engaged, knowledgeable pols.

There's nothing subtle in my assertion that large swaths of DC will vote against Catania because he is A) white, B) gay, and C) not a Democrat. I'm openly calling out the city on its biases, and I'm not afraid to say so. The racists, homophobes, and closedminded Democrats-uber-alles voters of this city absolutely cannot and will not open their eyes to the fact that he is far more competent than his opponent. DC likes to think it cares about diversity, but it does not and just wait until the general election for proof.

Whether Cantania is competent or not is your opinion, not fact. Before he was "The Education Champion!" he was "The Healthcare Champion!" and the city hasn't exactly made great strides in that area either.

This is not the thread in which to discuss it (or forum for that matter), but Catania did have significant achievements related to healthcare. Also, one notable effort of his failed because he didn't have the votes: turning down the contract settlement with Jeff Thompson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Mary Cheh!

I want to like Mary Cheh but experience with her had been that she's good on lip service but very bad on delivery.

We had the opposite experience. Our neighborhood had a problem related to road paving, and she became our champion, and didn't let city staff rest until the issue was fixed. No one here is a big donor or similar...so we were surprised and impressed by her level of care and follow-up. She can count on our votes.

Really? She hasn't done much to get Reno fixed. It's a mess.

[Anonymous]

From WaPo 3/28

“I won’t support a plan that moves children from a higher-performing to a lower-performing school,”... “Out of fairness to the work that has been done, I would be willing to look at the plan. But I think the emphasis should have been on improving programming, not on redrawing boundaries.”

“We’re going to have to make some decisions around boundaries. Does it have to be by 2015? I don’t think so.”

Guess which one is the gay, white, male, former RINO?

I'm a straight, black, woman, Dem, but I have zero confidence in Bowser's ability to lead in the area of education.

Catania has earned my vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From WaPo 3/28

“I won’t support a plan that moves children from a higher-performing to a lower-performing school,”... “Out of fairness to the work that has been done, I would be willing to look at the plan. But I think the emphasis should have been on improving programming, not on redrawing boundaries.”

“We’re going to have to make some decisions around boundaries. Does it have to be by 2015? I don’t think so.”

Guess which one is the gay, white, male, former RINO?

I'm a straight, black, woman, Dem, but I have zero confidence in Bowser's ability to lead in the area of education.

Catania has earned my vote.

+1. a leftist Democrat who would have no problem with voting for Catania. improving programming in all schools sounds a lot more sensitive that making Wilson a lottery HS so whoever can will flee the town

[Anonymous]

I heard Catania speak tonight at John Eaton HSA meeting. I was very impressed, and he has this Democrat's vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am glad someone has issued a statement about these proposals!

Under at least one proposal, HS would be by lottery city-wide. That would affect all students and parents in all wards including Ward 3.

The grandfathering issue is still outstanding but I have heard many a parent wish aloud that the boundary change proposal had included some sort of statement about it. At least they could have said that kids in schools right now could stay there rather than having so many families wondering if they would have to start thinking about a move in less than 18 months.

Mary Cheh has voiced the concerns of her constituents. That's called representation.

Of course, that raises the age old question: should a politician do what's right or what's popular?

Those who oppose same-sex marriage and immigration reform are also just voicing the concerns of their constituents. Do you applaud them?

[Anonymous]

I think a representative should voice the concerns of those who elected him or her. It doesn't mean they have to agree. If they don't agree, then they have to decide if they still want to represent.

It is an age-old question and one that could be moved over to the political forum if you would like to continue to discuss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering how out of touch Cheh is with most W3 issues, i'm glad to see she issued this.

I actually talked to Cheh for the first time in my life at a Boy Scout banquet, and was extremely impressed. We spoke about how important education was (it saved my husband from a life of poverty and manual labor), and she was completely on top of trying to get a G&T program into Hardy. we talked about how neighborhood preference would destroy charter schools, and she told me she was the first in her family to graduate from high school (I think instead of college, like my MIL)

She is not out of touch and she is smart. I was really impressed. I do not think she would allow Hardy to feed anywhere besides Wilson if it were up to her.....