Greetings Parents,

To secure the very best education for all children in the District, parents must be able to understand the budgeting process for all of DC's public schools. How we invest in public education is one of the most important decisions we make as a community. Economic opportunity and growth – for individuals, families, and the city as a whole – is closely tied to how well we educate our children. As parents, you have a right to know how DC officials and school leaders fund our schools, who do the important work of educating DC's students. In many cases, less money is being spent these days on our local public schools than in the past because our investments in education have not kept pace with the rising costs in our city.

The Mayor of DC, like other city and state executives, sets the budget for how the District’s funds will be spent. In that budget is the universal per-student funding formula (“UPSFF”) which dictates the amount of money provided to our schools - both DCPS and public charter schools. The Mayor will release the upcoming 2018 budget next week and there are a number of education support organizations that are working together to encourage the Mayor to incorporate the recommendation of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education's cross-sector UPSFF working group into the FY18 budget, and increase the UPSFF funding by their recommendation of 3.5%. Unlike prior years, the Deputy Mayor for Education has not made a public commitment to a particular increase, despite the fact that DC is forecasting more revenue than ever before.

The UPSFF directly affects whether schools are able to adequately fund the education of DC's students. Unfortunately, without an annual increase, schools might be forced to make cuts to crucial programs like art, music, PE, and extracurriculars. In school budgets, the biggest cost is teacher salaries and without an increase to the UPSFF, schools might not be able to offer competitive teacher salaries that keep DC teachers from going to suburban districts.

We hope that our city will make the right choices for our students. Your voice is always a necessary resource to make sure that the best decisions are made for all children. A group of advocates (traditional and charter) created a cross-sector letter to be delivered to the Mayor at the end of this week. Organizations –including Pave—have signed and individuals –like you—are welcome to sign the letter to show support for the working group’s 3.5% recommended increase.

Stay informed, participate, and become empowered on issues such as the budget for all of DC's public schools - charter and traditional. If you have any questions, would like our support, or are interested in learning more about how DC’s budget impacts education, sign up here, or email us at info@dcpave.org.

Sincerely,

The PAVE Team