Muriel Bowser, D.C. mayor, says she will raise per-pupil spending by 2 percent next year

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday that she will increase the per-pupil funding for schools by 2 percent next year after education advocates had chided her for not investing enough money when she first announced her budget in April.

The mayor’s fiscal 2018 budget originally called for a 1.5 percent increase in per-pupil funds to D.C. public and charter schools. That proposal was less than the 2 percent increase that has been the standard in the city the last 10 years.

Currently, base funding per student is nearly $10,000 before factoring in funds for special needs or at-risk students.

But even with the standard 2 percent increase, education advocates say city students need more.

Groups like the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and Democrats for Education Reform have pointed to recommendations from Miss Bowser’s own education advisers who have said the city needs to significantly increase its per-student funding.

The D.C. Office of the State Superintendent for Education (OSSE) recommended a 3.5 percent increase in a January report to the D.C. Council.

A 3.5 percent increase would provide the proper funding and “the greatest flexibility to meet the diverse needs of the greatest number of schools, and schools with varying demographic populations, including alternative schools, charter schools and DCPS schools,” the OSSE report says.