DC Braces for Funding Crisis as the Downtown Area Struggles Financially
Council member Christina Henderson, at-large independent and a former D.C. Public Schools employee, said some expenditures will be difficult to trim. She noted that the police department’s 2023 overspending resulted from overtime pay for an understaffed force and the State Superintendent for Education’s overspending came from increased special education needs as the city’s immigrant population grows. “The public school system is one agency that’s required to serve children, no matter how many show up after we budget for it,” Ms. Henderson said. “With the migrant crisis, we’re a very transient city.” On the other hand, she said, she has worked to “level expectations” among constituents for other funding requests and the council must adjust to reduced revenue “and be responsible about it.”