Reply to Kaya Henderson has Undermined her own Leadership

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele]Aaron Weiner of the Washington City Paper has an article looking at winners and losers in the recent DME school boundary process:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2014/08/27/zone-defense/

In response to a suggestion that some families hurt by the new school boundaries might move, DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson is quoted as saying:

"Even those who decide to leave, you know, this city is getting 1,000 new residents a month," she says. "And these residents will have babies."

This is outrageous. While Henderson is factually correct, [b]retention of families that have invested in DCPS should be one of her top priorities[/b]. If her school system is causing people to leave the District, she is failing at her job. This raises a serious question as to whether Henderson is fit for the position she holds. Months ago, she publicly told a Council hearing that DCPS does not do middle schools well and suggested that maybe middle schools should be turned over to the charter sector. Now, she prefers babies over actual DCPS students. Is there anyone she actually wants to educate or is her goal to dismantle  DCPS?
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No school system can satisfy everyone.  And no set of changes like this can satisfy everyone. You have people with choice of where to live who lose from the DME proposal, people with choice of where to live who benefit, and of course the many people with less choice whose interests still matter.  I mean ultimately "You gotta do what I like cause I can MOVE" is simply not something that should stop an otherwise good plan.   Its like the folks on the Hill constantly whining how their problems are hurting the Distict, even as the gentrification frontier on the Hill advances block by block by block. That does not mean their problems should not be addressed - just that there is no tax base reason for it to be urgent.[/quote]

Please let me know what problems you find in the city so that I can advocate that they be ignored. I'm sure your problems are important to you, but, hey, can't satisfy everyone. 
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Loads.  People want to pay less in taxes, have more money spent to solve the many problems, and still have a balanced budget. They want more rights for citizens, and less crime.   They want more housing, but less impacts from more density.    Parking to be less scarce, but not to have to pay more for it.

Life is full of tradeoffs.   The proposed plan addressed real problems. It also created losers in the process. There is no way to have avoided that. MAYBE your proposal to delay a year till McFarland plans are fleshed out will result in fewer losers, at minimal cost. But there will STILL be losers, and yes, some of them will leave the city as a result.  [/quote]

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