Board now opposes schools referendum

The D.C. elections board yesterday reversed its decision to allow D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fentys schools takeover plan to go before city voters, moving the mayor a step closer to controlling the citys school system.

Documents filed in D.C. Superior Court by the elections board yesterday say Mr. Fentys takeover plan cannot be put to a referendum because it was signed into law by President Bush on Friday and an act of Congress cannot be subject to a citizen referendum.

The filing comes a day before a judge was scheduled to hear Mr. Fentys challenge to the boards initial ruling on May 29 before the president signed the legislation which said the takeover plan was a proper subject for a referendum.

Carrie Brooks, a spokesman for Mr. Fenty, said D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer filed a motion with the court last night to withdraw the challenge. A hearing will be held at 9:30 this morning in Superior Court on the subject.

"Everything thats been filed around this case will be heard tomorrow, including our request to dismiss the case," Miss Brooks said last night.

The mayor filed a challenge Friday to the boards ruling, saying a referendum was improper because it would overturn an act of Congress and circumvent the authority of the mayor and the city council.

Matthew Watson an attorney for activist Mary Spencer, who has led the referendum push said he may challenge the validity of the boards decision to change the ruling or whether the board had the authority to reverse itself because the law says its rulings are to be challenged in court.

"I dont think it makes any sense, this decision," he said. "The whole process is treating the electorate with no respect."

Mr. Watson said getting a judge to rule in his favor will be difficult and will likely eat further into the time that referendum supporters have to collect signatures.

Supporters of a referendum were scheduled to have until the end of a 30-day congressional review period to collect roughly 20,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot for an August special election.

If the referendum is ultimately denied, Mr. Fenty will gain control of the schools at the end of the congressional review period, which is scheduled to end June 11, according to court papers filed by the attorney general's office.

"Each day we get closer to a new era of accountability and excellence in education for all of the District's children," Mr. Fenty said yesterday.