Dear St. Coletta families,

Last Friday, St. Coletta’s official testimony was a major highlight at the DC Council’s Budget Oversight Hearing on education. Council Chair Phil Mendelson publicly acknowledged that our students are being underfunded, and other Councilmembers voiced their support. Now we need your voice.

Please send a short message to DC Council today asking them to fund $2.6 million in supplemental support for FY26 and implement Level 5 UPSFF funding in FY27. This will only take a minute.

Just copy and paste the message below and send to the email addresses provided. Need Help? If you have questions or want help sending your message, email julia.christian@stcoletta.org.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP!

SEND TO:

pmendelson@dccouncil.gov; rwhite@dccouncil.gov; kmcduffie@dccouncil.gov; chenderson@dccouncil.gov; abonds@dccouncil.gov; bparker@dccouncil.gov; jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.gov; bnadeau@dccouncil.gov; bpinto@dccouncil.gov; zparker@dccouncil.gov;cfrumin@dccouncil.gov; wfelder@dccouncil.gov

SUBJECT LINE:

Support Full Funding for St. Coletta Students

BODY OF EMAIL:

Dear Chairman Mendelson,

As a proud parent of a student at St Coletta Special Education Public Charter School, I want to thank you for your strong leadership during Friday’s Budget Oversight Hearing. It meant a great deal to hear you publicly acknowledge what our community has known for years: our St. Coletta students are being underfunded.

We respectfully ask the Council to fund the full $2.6 million supplemental request for FY26 and implement the Level 5 UPSFF weight beginning in FY27.

Our students rely on full-time aides, speech therapy, nursing care, and other specialized supports required by their IEPs. These are not optional services. They are essential to their safety, growth, and ability to learn. We appreciate your longstanding support and urgently request that Council takes bold action to ensure our children are not left behind.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

[Your Ward or Neighborhood]