"Initially the mayor was very involved, but I don’t know of any involvement over the past 12 months," said District III school board member Tommy Wells, who represents the area in which McKinley is located. "One of the main concerns is that since the mayor and city council cut the public school budget, there’s a question of will we be able to fund this as a new initiative."

Board of Education President Peggy Cooper Cafritz said McKinley has not received any funding from the city and this means that other DCPS capital projects have lost out because of money taken from them to support the technology school.

"Once again it’s the school system that’s forced to absorb the cost of someone else’s fancy," Cafritz said. "Not that McKinley isn’t a good idea, but we can’t be expected to do a new high school while they’re cutting our budget."

Michelle Walker, the mayor’s adviser on education policy, said nothing specific has been done on the McKinley project in the mayor’s office over the last fiscal year besides providing the school board with money through the capital budget.

"The mayor doesn’t have control over the project," Walker said. "There hasn’t been any additional support asked [of the mayor] from the school board."

In the beginning Mayor Williams promised private funding for renovation of the closed Ward 5 school that was formerly McKinley Technical High School. Tony Bullock, spokesman for Mayor Williams, said the plan for private funding did not turn out the way they hoped it would because "the tech bubble burst." He said companies cannot give millions of dollars in grants when they are laying off employees.

"It’s hard to fund expensive, new projects when people are being laid off," Bullock said. "McKinley Technology has to get back on track."

Councilman Vincent Orange, D-Ward 5, who persuaded the mayor to locate the high-tech high school on McKinley’s campus, did not return calls for comment.

Councilman Kevin P. Chavous, D-Ward 7, who chairs the council’s education committee, said he believes three things have contributed to the slow development of the project. He said the school system was not involved enough from the beginning on the educational specifications, there was not the right engagement of the community from the beginning and the cost turned out to be more than was expected.

"I think a lot of private supporters pulled out because they saw the planning wasn’t as detailed as what they thought it should be," Chavous said. "Over the last year I don’t think [McKinley] has been as much of a priority to the mayor’s administration."

Also delaying the opening of the technology school for a year were uncertainties in the budget and ongoing construction. It is now expected to open in September 2004. Daniel Gohl, the principal hired for McKinley in February 2002, said the school board was forced to cut the fiscal 2003 operating budget by $30 million due to reduced funding, and included in the cut was the $1.2 million allocated to open McKinley in 2003.

Wells said that at this point the McKinley project is costing $50 to $60 million in capital investment and $2 million in program costs. Wells said the private partners Mayor Williams wanted to involve in the building process are up in the air as well as the mayor’s commitment to the project.

While pulling back on his support of the McKinley project, Mayor Williams has been highly visible recently in his support of President George Bush’s private school voucher plan for the District.

Debbie Smith, executive steering committee member for the McKinley Technology campus, said community members are waiting for an answer from the school board and superintendent to indicate whether the school is moving forward.

Gohl said the curriculum and admissions and application process needs to be approved, students have to be recruited and admitted, faculty and staff need to be hired and all support materials need to be identified, ordered and ready for the opening day.

"Remember, we are starting a high school from scratch," Gohl said.

Gohl said the new school will have three areas of focus in the curriculum, including biotechnology, information technology and broadcast technology. He said these will be woven into the traditional high school curriculum for ninth and 10th grades and the upperclassmen will focus on one of these areas of study.

"Any student can apply," Gohl said. "I’m looking for students who are good school attendees and have a commitment to furthering their education."

Smith said she believes the principal is moving McKinley toward becoming a magnet school and the community wants to make sure children who live nearby have the opportunity to enroll at the school and take general education courses without it being so structured.

Wells said there are also discussions of partnering with the University of the District of Columbia or Southeastern University, which would provide students with an associate degree in computer technology.

"This would be a natural extension for some of the students and will utilize the facilities which are wired to support computer technology," Wells said.

Wells said trying to decide whether to use the empty wing that has been constructed for private investment or a university connection has also contributed to delaying the pursuit of private support.

"I hope that [the mayor] stays interested," Wells said.

Gohl said he is tremendously excited for the school to open because he thinks it will be an important part of the city’s efforts to reform its high schools.

"It’s another option," Gohl said. "I’m confident that it will be a quality program of choice for high school students in D.C."

Cafritz also expressed determination about getting the project completed.

"Of course we will open McKinley, we will do it well, and it will become an honor to all of the alumni of the old McKinley," Cafritz said. "We will simply have to reduce the size of it so that it fits our budget, until the mayor comes to his senses about the real cost of education in D.C."

Copyright 2003, The Common Denominator