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MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE: I WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU TODAY TO DISCUSS THE ENROLLMENT COUNT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. AS YOU KNOW QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF DCPS' ENROLLMENT COUNT HAVE EXISTED FOR MANY YEARS. THE OCTOBER 1996 REPORT OF THE CONTROL BOARD, CHILDREN IN CRISIS: A FAILURE OF THE D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, STATES "ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS DATA PROBLEMS IS THE LACK OF CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS." IN AUGUST OF 1997, THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE (GAO) RELEASED ITS AUDIT OF THE METHODOLOGY USED BY DCPS FOR ITS OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT COUNT OF OCTOBER 1996. THE GAO IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF MAJOR WEAKNESSES, INCLUDING:
NEW ENROLLMENT COUNT PROCEDURESIN RESPONSE TO THE GAO FINDINGS, DCPS IMPLEMENTED NEW PROCEDURES THIS SCHOOL YEAR TO COUNT ITS OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT. THE NEW PROCEDURES RESULTED IN A COUNT OF 77,111 STUDENTS THAT IS NOW BEING AUDITED, AS REQUIRED BY THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCHOOL REFORM ACT OF 1995. THE PROCEDURES USED THIS YEAR FEATURED:
THE USE OF THESE NEW PROCEDURES RESULTED IN THE REMOVAL OF 286 STUDENTS FROM THE OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT COUNT THAT WERE ORIGINALLY INCLUDED BY PRINCIPALS. THESE INCLUDED 133 DUPLICATE STUDENTS AND 153 INACTIVE STUDENTS. IN ADDITION, THE NEW PROCEDURES ALLOWED US TO IDENTIFY SCHOOLS THAT FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES, PERMITTING DCPS TO HOLD PRINCIPALS ACCOUNTABLE AS PART OF THEIR ANNUAL EVALUATION PROCESS. MR. CHAIRMAN, I BELIEVE WE HAVE TAKEN SIGNIFICANT STEPS IN IMPROVING HOW WE COUNT OUR STUDENTS. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT SIGNIFICANT STEPS REMAIN. PROMINENT AMONG THESE ARE REPLACING THE CURRENT AUTOMATED DATA BASE WITH A MODERN SYSTEM; MOVING TO A MORE CENTRALIZED ENROLLMENT PROCESS WHILE ENSURING AN EQUITABLE SYSTEM OF CHOICE AMONG SCHOOLS; AND, OF COURSE, COMBATING THE PROBLEM OF NONRESIDENTS ATTENDING OUR SCHOOLS WITHOUT PAYING TUITION. AS GAO AND OTHERS WILL NO DOUBT TESTIFY, DCPS REMAINS VULNERABLE TO INCLUDING NONRESIDENTS IN ITS OFFICIAL COUNT. DCPS OFFERS EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE ATTRACTIVE TO NONRESIDENTS, PARTICULARLY PRE-SCHOOL, PRE-KINDERGARTEN, AND ALL-DAY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS NOT PROVIDED BY SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS. IN ADDITION, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY BETWEEN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS WHEN CENSUS PROJECTIONS ARE RECONCILED WITH DCPS DATA, IT APPEARS THAT THE NUMBER OF NONRESIDENTS INCLUDED IN THE OFFICIAL COUNT MAY BE IN THE RANGE OF 4,000 TO 7,000 STUDENTS. HOWEVER, THE FACT THAT NONRESIDENTS MAY BE INCLUDED IN THE COUNT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE COUNT IS INACCURATE. THE OVERALL COUNT IS INTENDED TO REFLECT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR RESIDENCY. FURTHERMORE, DCPS CAN, FOR THE FIRST TIME, TARGET NONRESIDENTS USING ITS AUTOMATED DATABASE. THIS DATA, COUPLED WITH REVISED AND STRENGTHENED RESIDENCY RULES, WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE DCPS' ABILITY TO IDENTIFY NONRESIDENTS AND ENFORCE TUITION REQUIREMENTS. MR. CHAIRMAN, INSTITUTING CHANGE IN A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE MIDST OF A TAKEOVER IS A COMPLEX AND OFTEN INCREMENTAL PROCESS THAT INVOLVES BOTH CHANGES IN THE RULES AND CHANGES IN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. WE CHANGED THE RULES THIS YEAR ON HOW WE COUNT OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT. WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ERRORS, CORRECT THEM, AND HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE. NOW WE MUST FOLLOW THROUGH WITH ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND CONTINUE TO FOSTER CHANGE IN OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. WE ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN A PROCESS OF COLLECTING THREE DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING PROOF OF RESIDENCY FROM 77,000 DIFFERENT STUDENTS IN 150 SCHOOLS WHILE TARGETING SEVERAL THOUSAND STUDENTS FOR TUITION ENFORCEMENT. HAVING THE REVISED RULE IN PLACE, WITH ITS MORE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS, EXPEDITED APPEALS PROCESS, AND LEVERAGE FOR PRINCIPALS, WAS AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP. TO BE SUCCESSFUL, HOWEVER, THIS EFFORT WILL REQUIRE THE SUPPORT OF ALL OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS. THIS CONCLUDES MY PREPARED STATEMENT. I WILL BE PLEASED TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU OR THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS MAY HAVE. |
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