Erin Ward Bibo’s Public Testimony Before the Committee of the Whole
Good afternoon Chairman Mendelson, Committee Members, and staff. My name is Erin Bibo, and I am Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at CityWorks DC, a nonprofit focused on achieving two inextricably linked goals: 1) DC youth and young adults are prepared for, hired into, and succeeding in the good jobs we have in our city and region. 2) Local industries are confidently relying on local talent to meet their workforce needs. I’m also a Ward 6 resident and parent of three DCPS students. I am testifying today to highlight the FY26 proposed investments I’m most excited about and grateful for, as well as a few areas of concern.
Here is what I’m most excited about in the Mayor’s proposed FY26 Budget:
The DC Office of Education Through Employment Pathways data system is poised to provide us with insights such as the extent to which the graduates of our publicly-funded education and training programs are employed and earning a living wage in our city. I can only imagine you are as excited as I am- especially at a time when it’s more important than ever to smartly spend taxpayer dollars on solutions that work- to better understand which publicly-funded investments actually prepare our residents for a career. The office has already delivered on its mission to provide actionable insights through the brief published yesterday that looks at alumni employment, wages and well being, as well as work earlier this year that looked at UDC programs alignment to the labor market. Based on my close work with employers through the Hire Local DC Sector Partnerships, this is exactly the type of information we need to build a local talent pipeline and prepare DC students for good jobs in the region. The budget’s operating enhancement of $550,000 will fund maintenance and operations for the system, which will not be able to operate without this funding.
I am also grateful for the city’s continued investments in the operation of the Advanced Technical Center in Ward 5 and the establishment of on-site health clinics to serve as partners and community health providers and in the expansion of the ATC to Ward 8 at the Whitman-Walker Center on St Elizabeth’s East campus. The ATCs offer students college courses and credential-bearing pathways in high-demand fields like nursing and cybersecurity in partnership with Trinity Washington University. This is exactly the type of Career Asset Building opportunities our students need.
These are my areas of concern in the proposed FY26 Budget:
There appears to be a $2.6 million reduction to OSSE-funded Adult Education workforce programs in the budget. While the increases in UPSFF would blunt some of this impact for adult charters, it would be seriously detrimental to the community based organization recipients such as So Others Might Eat and Catholic Charities, which are doing terrific work preparing many DC residents for good jobs.
It is also difficult to tell in the Budget Book the extent to which cuts have been made to the DC Futures last dollar scholarship program, and to Career and Technical Education, both of which are administered by OSSE, and both of which are fundamental to the success of the District’s youth and young adults. I sincerely hope both of these programs are preserved in the FY 26 budget, and encourage you and your staff to get clarity on the status of both of these investments.
Thank you for your continued leadership and support of important Pathways investments for our city, its residents, and industry. I’m happy to take any questions. Thank you.