D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson is turning up the heat on how DC Public Schools spends city dollars, bringing in outside help after months of council questions about rising per student costs and a ballooning central office. Parents, teachers and local school advisory teams have complained that campus budgets feel opaque even as district headcount has grown faster than enrollment. The scrutiny lands just as lawmakers and the administration hammer out budget choices that will shape classrooms across the District.
Auditor Brings In Outside Hired Guns
According to a press release from the Office of the D.C. Auditor, Patterson in October 2024 approved a $290,000 sole source contract with Alvarez & Marsal to review K-12 spending and pinpoint areas of staffing growth. The work was initially scheduled to wrap in March 2025 and was pitched as a way to give the Council and the public concrete evidence to guide upcoming budget deliberations.
Audit Flags Rising Per Student Costs And Staffing Surge
A follow up study and briefings from the auditor’s office intensified the focus, showing that DCPS’s costs per student have climbed while staffing has grown faster than enrollment. As reported by FOX 5 DC, the review found per pupil spending near $25,000 and about a 20 percent increase in staff over a recent five year period, even as student counts barely budged.
Council Grills DCPS Leadership
Budget oversight hearings earlier this month gave the D.C. Council a public stage to press DCPS leaders on how money is split between schools and the central office. The Council’s witness list shows Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee testified at the May 1 hearing, and the DC Council transcript captures extended questioning about whether central office growth is crowding out school level resources and how staffing decisions connect to student outcomes. Councilmembers repeatedly pushed for clearer staffing allocations and stronger data to justify hiring choices, underscoring the political stakes as they finalize the FY27 funding plan.
Auditor: "A Lot Of Questions"
Patterson told WJLA that the review grew out of “a lot of questions around what DCPS is spending and for what and what we’re getting.” She said the outside analysis is intended to give policymakers and residents a clearer picture of whether the system’s resources line up with district priorities.
DCPS Response
DCPS officials say that while funding has gone up, the basic costs of running the system have climbed as well, and they told councilmembers they will cooperate fully with oversight. In written testimony and public remarks, Chancellor Ferebee pointed to recent pay and staffing investments and described this period as one in which the district must “right size” its priorities as federal COVID relief money expires, according to DCPS.
What Comes Next
The auditor’s work and the recent hearings arrive while the Bowser administration and the Council negotiate the FY27 budget, so the findings could influence where dollars land next year. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also proposed turning a truancy reduction pilot into citywide law as part of her FY27 package, a move the administration says will shift funding priorities and programming, according to the Mayor’s May 4 press release. The auditor’s full study is available online and is expected to sit at the center of budget debates in the weeks ahead.
Observers should expect more council questions and potential adjustments to central office staffing if the auditor ultimately recommends reallocations. DCPS leaders say they will work with the Council and any consultants to translate the review into clearer budget decisions for schools and students.
