D.C. SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO SHED STUDENTS:

Are the regular public schools in DC on life support? And could they soon disappear?

These are questions actually being posed out loud, and not just by anyone, but by community and political leaders of DC’s status quo. Why? Well, after the flight of more than 40 percent of students from traditional district schools to charter schools over the last decade, not to mention the voucher program, the DC School District was forced to announce yet another round of traditional public school closings.

Fifteen underutilized schools will close under the new plan, which could save $8.5 million, or about 1% of the District’s $800 million school budget. The board says it would use the savings to improve programming in the remaining schools within the system.

The goal would be to make the remaining traditional schools more attractive to parents who increasingly flock to charters or using private school vouchers. The Washington Post quotes David Catania, chairman of the city council’s education committee, saying the flock to charters may make traditional public schools, “a thing of the past.”

It’s like they’re facing some sort of K-12 Implosion or something.