During a March 18 Committee of the Whole meeting, the D.C. Council moved four measures that will appear on the consent agenda of an April 1 legislative meeting.
Those measures include that which reappoints Heidi Tseu to the D.C. Uniform Law Commission and another symbolic renaming of a portion of T Street in Northwest in honor of Louise B. Miller, a Black mother who filed a lawsuit to ensure her son, and other deaf Black youth, could attend school in the District.
Also making it to the April 1 consent agenda are measures solidifying the reappointment of Jinwoo Parks as executive director of the Criminal Code Revision Commission and Lyle M. Blanchard as a trustee member of D.C. Retirement Board.
Please keep in mind that, given the brevity of the March 18 Committee of the Whole meeting, this edition of The Collins Council Report focuses on upcoming budget deliberations, public school HVAC maintenance, organizers’ outcry against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s RENTAL Act, and a DIstrict student roundtable conducted by the council’s Committee of the Whole.
A Note about Upcoming Budget Deliberations
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is scheduled to present her Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal to the council on April 2.
From then until May 28, when the finalized budget goes before the council for a first reading, council members will work within their committees and among one another to shape the budget in a manner that best addresses residents’ concerns.
However, in the aftermath of Trayon White’s expulsion from the council, Ward 8 residents won’t have ward-level representation at the table as the council figures out how to work around a $300 million budget deficit.
“There’s a lot of pain,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told The Informer, as he spoke about his engagement with Ward 8 residents. “And that pain is associated with different problems… There’s also a feeling [that] residents are on their own [without] a representative. They feel left out.”
Since former Councilmember White’s expulsion, Mendelson has been making the rounds at Ward 8 community meetings, including one the Anacostia Coordinating Council (ACC) conducted on March 12 at Living Word Church in Southwest.
At-large D.C. Councilmember Robert White, another citywide council representative, met with ACC in February, and, as recently as that week, participated in a tour of the Residences at St. Elizabeths, a low-income affordable housing community dealing with structural issues, flooding and trash collection five years after its completion.
When Bowser presents her budget proposal, Mendelson, At-large Councilmember White and other members of the council will have the task of deciding if, in whichever way, they are to make adjustments. There’s also, as Mendelson mentioned on March 18, the question of raising taxes, whether on the District’s well-to-do residents or by other means.
In speaking about this quandary, Mendelson maintains his opposition.
“At some point we tax ourselves out of [voter] support,” Mendelson told The Informer, referencing tax increases under then-Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley that his successor, Larry Hogan, used to differentiate himself as a state-level executive.
In the aftermath of a previous tax increases, including those on hotel stays and property taxes, and another intended to fund pay equity initiatives, Mendelson said the District has gone far enough in its demand of well-to-do residents.
“I made the note at the town hall that we have the most progressive…tax structure in the country of any state,” Mendelson told The Informer. “When you compare it to the other states we are the best in terms of [taxing] upper-income people.”
Another point Mendelson brought up concerned what he described as priorities that get lost over time as D.C. residents continue to pay taxes.
“We sustain a program by raising this tax [and] three [or] four years later, the tax is disconnected from the program,” he said. “The program gets cut or eliminated [but] the tax doesn’t.”
On July 15, Ward 8 residents will cast their vote for the candidate they want to serve the rest of former Ward 8 Councilmember White’s four-year term. Be on the lookout for future reporting this budget season that centers Ward 8 residents navigating this unique political environment.
The Battle Against Bowser’s RENTAL Act Continues
In the midst of a budget battle on Capitol Hill, housing advocates are steadily pushing back against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s RENTAL Act.
Their qualm centers on a provision of the legislation, formally known the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Act, that excludes residents of majority market-rate apartments from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).
District tenants have used TOPA to intercept their landlord’s sale of the building to a third party and jump start a process that allows them to purchase their apartment building as a residents’ association. For decades, residents have organized in such a manner and, with the help of nonprofits and developers, secured bank mortgages to stay in place.
Despite the hurdles that residents often face to secure financing during property sales, housing advocates credit TOPA with slowing displacement, even if incrementally. Even so, the council continues to chip away at the law, including in 2018 when council members approved legislation exempting tenants of single-family homes from TOPA protections. More recently, as Bowser articulated her vision for a new downtown, the council exempted residents of downtown office-to-rental conversions from right of first refusal during property sales.
Damiana Dendy said she sees the RENTAL Act as the latest instance where elected officials are acting at the pleasure of landlords and banks, all at the expense of tenants.
“We’re paying the mortgage. We’re paying for the maintenance,” said Dendy, a D.C. Jobs and Justice housing organizer, on March 18 as she stood in front of the John A. Wilson Building. “The landlords simply just have access to capital that we don’t. Why does that doom us to a life of renting?”
Dendy, currently in the middle of a process afforded to her by TOPA, took to a bullhorn as she questioned Bowser’s intentions.
“Why would the mayor not want us to be homeowners?” Dendy said. “We need to have more homeownership options that are not single-family homes. We need to have people who are in apartments that become co-ops, that can become condos.”
Another key provision of the RENTAL Act makes permanent an emergency measure that the council approved last fall to re-establish pre-pandemic protocols around eviction and emergency rental assistance certification.
While announcing the legislation, Bowser, flanked by developers and realtor association leaders, framed it as a means of preserving D.C.’s rental housing stock, which landlords and banks say could collapse under the widespread nonpayment of rent. Her remarks came amid a battle at The Residences at St. Elizabeths, where some low-income tenants, in consultation with Dendy and D.C. Housing and Justice are organizing against what’s been described as management’s failure to address structural and safety issues.
As reported in another section of this report, housing advocates joined At-large Councilmember White for a tour of St. Elizabeths on the day preceding their protest. The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to gather comment from the council member about the visit.
Tenants at the Residences at St. Elizabeths are facing conditions similar to what Ward 8 residents living in what was formerly known as Marbury Plaza on Marion Barry Avenue in Southeast, as well as other apartment buildings across the District have fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years.
Rhonda Hamilton, a housing advocate, counts among those who’ve organized with tenants in Ward 8 who, years earlier, she said are living under conditions that exacerbate mental health issues. On Tuesday, she stayed on topic when she appeared in front of the Wilson Building, and with more than 30 other housing organizers watching, explained what she called a war against tenants commissioned by the mayor and D.C. Council.
“Too many communities across the District have lived with rodents, have lived with moles, have lived with retaliat[ory] management that keeps our citizens down,” Hamilton said. “What in the world is wrong with this mayor when she can see low-income and working families suffering…with the landlords and the developers? She’s led us into this mess and it’s time for us to clean it up.”
Lewis George Takes Aim at Persistent School HVAC Issues
Earlier this year, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) conducted hearings about D.C. Department of General Services (DGS), but not before District public school students and teachers spoke out about their struggles to secure HVAC repairs in the dead of winter.
Weeks after the first snowstorm of the year, students, teachers, and staff at Whitlock Elementary School sat in classrooms without any heat, bundled up in their coats, hats and gloves. A teacher who spoke with The Informer said this dilemma unfolded just months after the Bowser administration celebrated the school’s modernization.
“We didn’t get any relief,” said the teacher, who requested anonymity to speak freely about the situation at Whitlock Elementary, located in Northeast. “DGS kept saying there was no work order, then they came out [to the school] and they weren’t nice,” the teacher continued.
As the teacher recounted, DGS provided space heaters after staff members at Whitlock Elementary repeatedly inquired about the status of the initial work order, and later included the Washington Teachers’ Union, D.C. council, and local media in their efforts.
“I told the union something had to be done,” the teacher said. “The space heaters came through in three days after parents called the council and the news came through. Before that, it was four to five weeks.”
Other District public schools that reportedly experienced HVAC issues at the beginning of the year include: J.C. Nalle Elementary, Plummer Elementary, and Janney Elementary, the latter of which is located west of Rock Creek Park. Community members’ frustrations, advocates say, highlight concerns that have persisted since the pandemic era about DGS’ ability to quickly respond, and even prevent, HVAC breakdowns during extreme weather months.
During the earlier part of March, Lewis George, chair of the council’s Committee on Facilities, revealed her desire for DGS and D.C. Public School (DCPS) to form a school maintenance task force as a preventative measure against HVAC issues.
She said she wants to prioritize school buildings in the queue for modernization.
“We know we’re going to have to put contingency plans in place…instead of being consistently reactive,” Lewis George told The Informer. “We know there are buildings [and] we know that they are going to have issues, so we should be…communicating about it, [being] transparent about it, and have the contingencies and the additional staff ready to go as it relates to those schools.”
Per DGS’ website, HVAC maintenance and preventative measures started in 2021 with an expansion in its strategy during the 2024 fiscal year.
Key elements of DGS’ HVAC Inspection, Testing and Maintenance program include: thermostat and refrigerator checks, condensate drain cleaning, air filter replacements, and condenser coil cleaning.
DGS, responding to a request for comment about a HVAC maintenance task force, said it will work with the council to keep District public school buildings in tip top shape.
“DGS maintains ongoing communication with council members regarding our preventative maintenance measures which help ensure the proper functioning of HVAC systems in all schools and government facilities,” the statement read.
“Further, DGS is committed to maintaining safe, comfortable, and healthy learning environments for all DCPS students and staff. We consistently collaborate with DCPS on all facilities-related matters including any facilities that may require special attention and implement contingencies where needed.”
DGS has purview over 700 HVAC systems located across several District facilities, including schools and recreation centers. Each October, in advance of the winter season, the agency starts the transition of its HVAC systems from cooling to heating.
That process, as outlined on the DGS site, takes between 30 and 45 days. When it comes to larger buildings, like schools and recreation centers, DGS says the switch from cold to warm settings in the HVAC system can take up a day with indoor temperatures fluctuating by 30 degrees and buildings temporarily feeling like the outdoors.
At Whitlock Elementary, teachers like the one who spoke to The Informer anonymously said they’re pivoting their attention to the summer and fall months, when temperatures are expected to skyrocket.
Without a properly functioning HVAC system, the teacher predicts a different kind of anguish that threatens to jeopardize academic outcomes.
“We’ll burn up when we return [to school] in the fall,” the teacher continued. “If you’re not comfortable, how can you be effective?,” they added. “[In the winter], your hands and ears are numb and you have to think about if you’ll be sick. It weighs on your psyche and socioemotional state.”
The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to speak with DCPS Deputy Chancellor for Finance and Operations Patrick Ashley about the nature of DCPS’s relationship with DGS, as it relates to HVAC maintenance.
A spokesperson opted instead to send a statement.
“Providing our students with safe and comfortable learning environments is a top priority for DCPS, and we understand that [it] requires a proactive and collaborative approach to HVAC concerns,” the statement read. “As we approach the upcoming season and anticipate warmer weather, the DCPS Facilities Team is prepared to receive and track issues as we partner with the DGS supporting their efforts to preserve and maintain various systems across the District’s building portfolio.”
The statement also assured transparency throughout the process.
“DCPS is committed to maintaining open lines of communication, sharing updates with stakeholders including families and the D.C. Council on contingency plans and critical repair work as needed.”
Students Weigh In on Education Issues
On the evening of March 18, the D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole heard from 100 public and public charter school students who spoke about their academic and social lives during a public roundtable themed “Student Voices on Education.”
Those who testified before the committee– upon which every member of the D.C. Council sits– practiced candor as they told stories about situations they faced on school grounds and in their neighborhoods.
School Without Walls student Aisha Sylla said trouble reached her doorstep months ago when, from her bedroom window, she saw a young person showing her younger siblings a knife.
“I was scared, angry, and extremely disappointed,” Aisha told D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) on March 18. “I quickly opened the window and yelled for my siblings to come inside. This followed with a very emotional conversation about what I had just seen. I knew that something needed to be changed.”
Aisha said that moment inspired her support of the Youth Mentorship Through Community Engagement Act, part of a crime prevention package that At-large D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D) introduced last year.
“My siblings needed a role model, and most importantly, a mentor,” Aisha said. “This situation is too common for D.C.’s Black youth, being exposed to violence in and outside the home.”
For hours, students like Aisha from across the District testified in Wilson Building Room 412 about a bevy of issues, including disrespectful teachers, unsanitary restrooms, what they described as lack of college and career preparedness, and the need for healthier food options.
Council members — like Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3), Christina Henderson (I-At-large), and Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7) — came in for minutes at a time, asking questions and reflecting on students’ testimony. Public witnesses came either on their own accord, or as representatives of either Mikva Challenge D.C. Student Voice Council, Black Swan Academy, T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project, D.C. Girls Coalition, and Jah Kente International.
Early on, D.C. public school student Angie Portillo prompted conversation about whether the council could ensure her school, Roosevelt Senior High School, keeps bathrooms sanitary and with adequate toiletries. For three minutes, while sitting on a panel of public and public charter school students, she told council members about doorless bathroom stalls, empty soap dispensers, leaky toilets, and a dearth of custodial staff.
“It’s cruel to think that our students are forced to use facilities that are not only uncomfortable, but can potentially be harmful,” Angie said. “Without soap, we are failing to provide our students with the basic tools they need to stay healthy. The shortage of custodians aggravates these issues. Our school staff work hard, but they are stretched thin.”
Days before President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, Sade Steinbeck, a senior who attends Coolidge High School in Northwest, expressed concern to the council that her peers might not be receiving the appropriate college and career counseling.
“I’m fortunate enough to have strong connections with my college and career coordinators and guidance counselor,” Sade said. “However, there aren’t enough to aid all students. Additionally, not all students may have access to computers at home, so they have to rely on resources that they have in school to provide for them.”
For Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D), the hearing provided an opportunity to inform the council’s ongoing response to truancy and recidivism.
“What we’re going to hear is a lot of young people talking about what they want to see happen in the city, what they wish were true,” Parker told The Informer hours before the hearing. “I think it’s necessary for all of us to take action on that.”
Parker, who conducts oversight of D.C. Department of Rehabilitation Services, recently visited the facility on Mt. Olivet Road in Northeast, where he, as he told The Informer, conversed with young people who expressed dissatisfaction with their educational experiences.
“Every young man I spoke to at DYRS had been there before,” Parker said. “Every one of them, and that just speaks to our very high recidivism rates. It also says that we’re not focusing enough on rehabilitation. They all could tell and knew they were being underserved in school, school before they were in DYRS, as well as the education program at DYRS.”
The youth hearing had representation from east of the Anacostia River with the participation of Calique Barnes, one of four student representatives on the D.C. State Board of Education. He appeared before the council’s Committee of the Whole in his capacity as a student at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School in Southeast.
In his testimony, Calique encouraged the council to build upon this hearing with actions that truly position young people to create their own world.
While he commended the legislative body for its efforts, he said that such overtures often fall short due to the lack of self-determination that youth are able to practice.
“When we talk about enrichment opportunities, we need more than just a list of activities that may not speak to our interests or realities. We need programs that are accessible and speak to our passions, such as tech, art, entrepreneurship,” said Calique, a Ward 8 resident. “We need mentorship with professionals who reflect our experiences and who can guide us in the pathways we’re trying to create by ourselves. We need…training that equips us for life after school and not just vague notions of success.”
