No vote on Fenty schools takeover

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A D.C. Superior Court judge yesterday ruled against a grandmother hoping to bring Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's school takeover before voters -- a decision that likely ends any challenge to the mayor's proposal and allows him to assume official control of the public school system next week.

"We have to resign to the fact that the judge just told us [the mayor] will do that," said Mary Spencer, the public school grandparent who requested that sections of Mr. Fenty's plan be subjected to a voter referendum. "But that doesn't mean we're loving it."

Judge Lynn Leibovitz agreed with city attorneys and reversed an opinion by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics that stated part of Mr. Fenty's plan is not a proper subject for a referendum because President Bush has already signed it into law.

"What is acted upon by Congress cannot be approved or rejected by" a referendum, Judge Leibovitz said during a hearing announcing her ruling. "The wish of the electorate to tell the world its opinion ... is not properly the purpose of the referendum process."

The judge also said the elections board had the right to reverse its original decision that the takeover was the proper subject for a referendum. She also refused to order the board to issue signature petitions to referendum supporters.

She did not rule on whether the board had violated D.C. law by not reversing its opinion at a public meeting but said elections officials made their stance clear in public court documents.

"The change of decision in this case was made in a reasonable time," Judge Leibovitz said. "I find that the delay here was not unreasonable even in light of the need for haste in the referendum process."

The judge agreed with city officials that a section of Mr. Fenty's takeover legislation presented to the D.C. Council that would amend the city's Home Rule statutes upon congressional approval was "legislatively accomplished" when Mr. Bush signed a similar bill in Congress authorizing the charter changes.

Mrs. Spencer's attorney, Matthew Watson, had argued that the congressional bill and council bill were separate from each other.

He also said a referendum approved by voters would essentially retain the D.C. Board of Education as the authority over the school system and have no effect on the congressional legislation.