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Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty will name D.C. school board member Victor Reinoso his deputy mayor for public education today, sources tell The Examiner.
Reinoso, 37, is an executive of the Federal City Council and the Board of Education. He has been an outspoken and consistent voice for reform in D.C.’s failing school system.
He is also one of the first Hispanics to serve on the board of education, and was elected in 2004.
Fenty spokeswoman Mafara Hobson would not confirm Reinoso’s appointment, which had been the subject of speculation Wednesday, saying only that the person has experience in education.
D.C. schools have been the subject of much scrutiny in recent months. Plagued by corruption and waste, and marred by several public documentations of crumbling facilities, the system is in danger of losing its federal funds after the U.S. Department of Education rated D.C. “high risk” for shoddy accounting practices.
Fenty has hinted at a proposal to take over the schools. Even if he loses that fight — he has encountered resistance from incoming school board President Robert Bobb — Fenty certainly will lead a drastic overhaul of the system. Reinoso likely would have a critical role in overseeing the system’s reforms as mapped out in the Master Education and Master Facilities plans.
Wards 5 and 6 Board member Tommy Wells, the incoming Ward 6 D.C. Council member, worked with Reinoso on the Board. He called Fenty’s choice “superb.”
“Hopefully this move will reassure parents and school advocates that the school system will stay on course and implement the reforms that we have adopted,” Wells said.
Reinoso, who like Fenty is an avid runner, lives in upper Northwest in Ward 4.
He is the son of a public school teacher and has a long background in public education, having volunteered to teach interview skills at Ballou and Spingarn High Schools in 1992.
Reinoso has an undergraduate degree in International Relations from Georgetown University and a n MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Reinoso is a welcome appointment, Bobb told The Examiner on Wednesday.
“Clearly,” Bobb said, “he understands the issues before the school board.”
