Faulty Budget Data Led to DC Teacher Layoff

Photo courtesy of
‘Jerk City’
courtesy of ‘Smath.’

So, you remember how DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee laid off all those teachers, citing budgetary pressures? Yeah, so apparently the budgetary pressures were based on faulty data from the schools’ CFO, Noah Wepman. According to Councilman Harry Thomas’ (D-Ward 5) office, the schools CFO based the budget on an average teacher salary of $81,000, when the average salary of a DC teacher is $67,000. So now instead of a $43M deficit, there’s a $34M surplus, which will be used to pay for the new teacher contract rather than to reinstate the laid-off teachers.

I’d say I predict a big, screamy fight between the Council, Fenty, Rhee, and the Washington Teachers’ Union, but it seems cheap to predict laws of nature and pretend you’re insightful.

Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.

Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.

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