WTU rally demands full funding for schools, existing budget has other priorities

Video-Rev Hagler speaks at the rally 2 min 23 sec

On the 25th of April, Washington Teacher's Union showed up at Freedom Plaza demanding the City Council amend the upcoming FY budget to fully fund public schools in all 8 wards.

It is well known the Mayor prefers to focus on other priorities such as charter schools, stadiums, and anything else to encourage the "New Washingtonians" and their condos to come.

The exact goal posted by WTU for the rally was "Demand that the DC Council amend the proposed FY 2020 DCPS budget to fully fund our schools. If the proposed budget is not amended, our schools could lose millions of dollars." In other words, the current budget funds the Mayor's "other priorities" and not the schools.

Mayor Bowser and multiple members of the DC Council represent developers, the hotel and convention industry, DC United(stadium deal etc), and Wal-Mart. The Mayor is even trying to tempt the Washington Football Team to build a third corporate welfare stadium in DC. Councilmember Jack Evans is infamous for helping former Mayor Williams get his baseball stadium. A 2013 estimate showed the Washington Nationals paying back to DC only a third of what had been forecast, after almost $700M of DC funds had been spent on the stadium. All these "other priorities' spend money like water, if there is enough money for two more stadiums there is certainly enough to pay teachers and keep roofs at schools from leaking. Certainly it implies enough money to have the same size classes and same quality materials in Anacostia as in Georgetown and Cleveland Park. Instead we get budgets for "bread and circusses without the bread."