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D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he would undo some of the most contentious cuts that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/03/dc-budget-bowser-cuts-tax-hikes/" target=_blank>made in her proposed budget</a> — including to a fund for early-childhood teachers — and that he would flat-out reject demands made by Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee to pour funds into the city’s reserves, setting up a political showdown with the otherwise low-key finance wonk.

In an unusually meaty Friday night newsletter, Mendelson previewed significant changes he will make when he unveils his proposed budget next month, including reversing certain cuts to D.C. Public Schools and to a fund that helps domestic violence victims. Most drastically, he plans to undo Bowser’s decision to entirely eliminate the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund, which provides salary stipends to day-care and preschool educators to put them on par with public school teachers.

Bowser has said she did not want to cut the fund and only did so late in the game after Lee insisted the city refill its local reserve fund, costing $217 million over the five-year financial plan, or else he would not certify the budget. She and Mendelson strongly disagreed with Lee, arguing he had no legal basis for the demand, but Bowser nevertheless proposed the cuts to meet that request.

On Friday night Mendelson upped the ante, saying he would ignore Lee’s requirement.

“The budget I will present will restore most if not all of the Pay Equity Fund, and do so by rejecting the Chief Financial Officer’s insistence that $217 million needs to be added to the District’s already-robust reserve funds,” Mendelson wrote. “The CFO exceeded his authority when he told the Mayor and me that the reserves need to be topped-off now — because the law provides otherwise.”

Mendelson appeared to lend support to Bowser, who has been facing intense blowback from advocates for the decision to slash the Pay Equity Fund, while blaming Lee. “This was a policy choice he forced on the Mayor,” Mendelson said, “and I’ve made clear to him that I will not comply.”

A spokeswoman for Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening. But in a budget hearing before the council earlier this month, Mendelson asked Lee what he would do if Mendelson refused to follow his instructions to fill the reserve fund, which functions like a rainy-day fund.

Lee said Mendelson would have to send the budget to Congress without his support or certification — an unusual situation for the city, which is overseen by Congress.

Bowser’s budget proposal, delivered to the council April 3, is one of the most stringent in years, as flat tax revenue and commercial vacancies on valuable downtown properties lash the city’s revenue and create a grim midterm outlook. Her budget includes roughly $500 million in proposed cuts, and the Pay Equity Fund, which officials said costs about $70 million a year, amounts to the largest cut.

Many of the teachers <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/05/dc-childhood-educators-salary-fund-budget-protest/" target="_blank">protested days after the budget was released</a>, fearing pay cuts of up to 40 percent and describing what felt like broken promises from the District. Many had gone back to school to pursue higher education and gain credentials, on the promise of a better salary. Some made long-term investments, finally having higher wages.

Mendelson said his proposed budget would restore at least $217 million to the Pay Equity Fund.

Lee had insisted on replenishing the reserve fund because he projected the District may need to rely on reserve funds to pay its bills in late 2027 and 2028. “Lest anyone think I am being irresponsible,” Mendelson said, the council chairman will look for other ways to ensure the reserve fund is stable and fully funded in the next four years, including devoting year-end surplus dollars to it.

“We therefore have plenty of time to ensure adequate reserves to meet cash flow needs,” Mendelson said.

Mendelson focused on cuts to D.C. Public Schools as well. While Bowser had proposed a historic 12 percent increase in per-pupil school funding, like most agencies, the DCPS budget did not escape cuts in certain areas. Schools systemwide are bracing for a loss of 200 full-time positions, including teachers and support staff members — <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/04/14/dc-school-staff-cuts-bowser-budget-proposal/" target=_blank>deeply worrying parents and educators alike.</a>

“It continues to amaze me that year after year the Chancellor proposes to cut funding to schools and force them to lay off teachers and other personnel,” Mendelson wrote in the newsletter. “I do not know one single school that says it has enough resources to do everything they want to do to improve learning.”

Mendelson accused the Bowser administration of flouting a “schools first” law passed by the council several years ago, intended to ensure that schools are funded at the same level as the year before, and that if there is an overall increase in funds for the school system, “the schools get more money,” Mendelson wrote. But that is not what happened, Mendelson said.

“It seems DCPS Central is budgeted first and schools last,” he wrote. “For next year, DCPS is getting almost $200 million more. And yet three-quarters of its schools are having to lay off personnel.”

He said the solution is “obvious”: “Restore funding to individual schools; invest in the classroom. And reduce the growth in the Central offices. Just because teachers are being paid more” — due to a recent teachers’ contract — “doesn’t mean they need more managers at Central,” Mendelson wrote.

Mendelson said he had not fully worked out the details of how to reverse the cuts to the school staff, but intended to redirect funds within the DCPS budget.

In a statement, Paul Kihn, deputy mayor of education, said the DCPS central office “has played an enormous and critical role in ensuring DCPS has a reading curriculum and strategy that is recognized as a standout in the nation,” helping students in pandemic recovery. “We cannot sustain a budgeting model that, year after year, pits our schools against our central supports. Both are incredibly necessary for the success of our students, schools, and community.”

Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/04/14/dc-school-staff-cuts-bowser-budget-proposal/" target="_blank">previously told The Washington Post</a> that he believes the funding model the school system continues to use is more equitable than the council’s, part of a long-simmering disagreement with Mendelson. He also noted that one-time funds and pandemic-era aid boosted hiring at a significantly faster rate than student enrollment, and contributing to the staffing and funding challenges the school system is now encountering. “We knew though, at that time, that we couldn’t sustain that level of increase in perpetuity,” Ferebee said about the new hires. “The challenge of this moment is, we’re now there where we’re phasing out the last elements of that investment.”

Lastly, he said it will be “most difficult” to restore funds for the Access to Justice Initiative, which provides lawyers for people facing various challenges ranging from eviction to domestic violence. Funded at $31 million last year, the fund would be cut by two-thirds this year, with Bowser proposing $10.4 million for the initiative. Mendelson said he would be looking for cuts elsewhere in the $10 billion local funds budget to keep Access to Justice at $31 million.

Mendelson will formally present his budget proposal on May 28.

Lauren Lumpkin contributed to this report.

Drake University, BAJMC in magazine journalism; BA in writing

Meagan Flynn covers D.C. government and politics on The Post's Metro team.

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