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Leaving Children Behind:
The Underfunding of D.C. Public Schools Building Repair and Capital Budget Needs

A Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools
Civic Leader Advisory Committee Report
July 2003

CONCLUSION: OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER

DCPS has responded to the horrendous conditions of District school buildings by developing a Facilities Master Plan and beginning its implementation.  Proposed funding cuts now threaten this Plan and will condemn tens of thousands of District students to dilapidated schools for another generation.  As the Master Plan itself concluded in 2001:

No child deserves to be in a classroom that doesn’t have adequate electricity for computers, or lighting to read their assignments, poor indoor air quality, or inadequate space to partake in typical educational activities. Children shouldn’t have to suffer discomfort due to excessive heat or cold, or to use a restroom that has broken fixtures with no running water. Our students deserve to be housed in buildings that are bright and inviting, in good condition and appropriate for the educational needs of today’s curriculum. [11]

The vision embodied in the Master Plan is not unreasonable, much less extravagant.  It is a vision simply of a clean and inviting physical learning environment.  It is what the District’s children deserve.  We must not fail to carry out that Plan.