Let us stipulate the situation described by Mr. Nicholson is absurd.

Let us also recognize that, without an actual voting representative in Congress, there's little that can be done to improve D.C's school system. DC has been something of a showcase for politically spun educational theories.

There's also something weird I noticed. I've been in a couple of state capitals around the country, like four or five. I don't mean to insult anyone but they all were like movie sets: elegant official buildings in front, pretty run down behind the scenes. Not as bad as the backdrop to Atlantic City's casinos (which wouldn't be as bad if AC had unions like Las Vegas does, but that's a digression) but seriously...and DC seems to fit the pattern too.

Why D.C. Can't Read
By David Nicholson
Monday, May 15, 2006; A17

When Coolidge High School librarian Lynn Kauffman received notice a few weeks ago that her position was being eliminated, she was dumbfounded. After all, it wasn't as if she hadn't been doing her job.

The library was a shambles when she came to the school in the District's Brightwood neighborhood in the fall of 2002. Years of leaks had damaged the ceiling. Moldy, mildewed books were stuck to the shelves. The card catalogue was on its side, contents scattered.

In 3 1/2 years, Kauffman and a crew of students, teachers, parents and neighborhood volunteers transformed the library, cleaning it and discarding outdated and inappropriate books. She organized a partnership with the Special Libraries Association to assess needs and set up a computer catalogue. And she raised about $16,000 for new books and materials from foundations and donors, including this newspaper.

Under pressure from parents and residents who support Kauffman's efforts, Coolidge Principal L. Nelson Burton has agreed to let her return half time next year. But his initial decision to install a "computer lab coordinator" in the library stands -- one more example of the D.C. public schools' misplaced priorities and shortsightedness.

This is a school system in which -- according to its just-released Master Education Plan -- most kindergartners have "no exposure to books at home." Average reading scores on a national standardized test (according to a recent letter from a U.S. deputy secretary of education to Superintendent Clifford Janey) "were lower than every other participating city school district."

The result of this abysmal record is that a third of the city's high school students drop out without graduating. An equal percentage of District adults read at or below the third-grade level.

Given these horrifying statistics, why would anyone want to remove someone who has created a program as successful as Kauffman's? Unfortunately, that's the kind of question we ask all too often of D.C. public schools.