Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 9, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Declining student enrollment, Metro fare evasion and the Commanders’ rough start.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 9/10. Bright skies despite some high clouds, light breezes, low humidity and highs in the mid-70s. October, you’re doing great. Full forecast from Capital Weather.
THE LATEST
Trending
Kids, what’s 99,555 minus 99,329?
The answer is 226, and that’s the number of students that D.C. schools lost over the last two school years.
That decline in school enrollment may not seem like much, but city officials and experts tell The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle that it may be the start of a downward trend that could prompt some difficult questions and policy decisions in D.C.’s public and charter schools.
Some of the concerns over future school enrollment stem from births in D.C., which have been dropping steadily over the last decade. While in 2016 there were 9,854 D.C.-resident children born, last year that number stood at 7,318 — a 25% decrease.
“We watch that number particularly carefully, and birth rates become a very important part of our long-term projections because they go through the system,” says Paul Kihn, D.C.’s deputy mayor for education.
Other factors are also at play. The number of people moving into D.C. has slowed, especially among the international set — and federal immigration policies are partly to blame. Those same policies have also led to an even larger drop in school enrollment among Latino students.
There’s no crisis yet, but experts say D.C. officials need to start talking about options now. As enrollment drops, they may have to consider closing some schools. But which ones? And with two separate school systems in D.C. — traditional public schools and independent public charter schools — coordination and cooperation will be critical.
Advocates also say D.C. needs to redouble efforts to make the city more affordable, especially reducing the cost of child care. “If we have folks who are investing in enrolling their kids in early learning programs and seeing the District as family friendly,” says Joanna Blotner of D.C. Action, “they’re more likely to want to stay in the District long term.”
That’s just simple math, right?
DEEP DIVE
Metro officials are considering a new solution to fare evasion: Expanding the power to issue citations to Metro Special Police Department officers, Metro employees, or, even, civilians. The Sun’s Will Hofmann reports that the idea was discussed during the agency’s Finance and Capital Committee meeting Thursday.
The concept is still a work in progress, Metro General Manager Randy Clarke told The Sun. But the system would love to grant “either civilians or special police” the ability to issue fare evasion citations.
Though the Metro Transit Police issued 11,000 citations during the first six months of the year, only 1,853 resulted in payments and court appearances, according to Metro data. Though fare evasion citations have increased in recent years, most evasion cases are thrown out, The Sun reported in June.
The proposal was just one in a slate of “fare concepts” that are going to be discussed during the 2028 budget cycle. Other ideas include expanding D.C.’s Kids Ride Free program to include Maryland and Virginia, introducing a utilization-based park and ride pricing structure and, notably, increasing fares.
Under the proposed concepts, Metrobus and Metrorail fares would increase by 11.1%. Beginning in July 2027, fares would range from $2.50 to $7.50. Tom Webster, Metro’s chief officer for strategy and planning, said the agency recognizes “that any fare increase is difficult for customers.” Fares last rose by 12.5% in 2024.
Since fares pay for service, the increase may be necessary to “offset the inflationary cost increases that Metro has seen,” Webster said. The energy, fuel and labor costs have increased as inflation has remained high, Clarke told reporters after the meeting: “We would love to not be in a position to raise fares, but that is part of our cost challenge.”
FROM THE DISTRICT
RFK is MIA. A bronze bust of Robert F. Kennedy has gone missing from the lawn outside his namesake stadium, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports. It was “removed by an unknown manner” and reported stolen on Oct. 1.
There are still many unknowns about the Purple Line, the light-rail train that will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton, including its opening date. But we know how payment will work: SmartTrip cards, the CharmPass mobile app, cash or credit. The tickets will be a flat rate, not charged based on distance like Metrorail, Kendall reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
The military has investigated the tragic collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet at Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people last year, and determined that there were multiple systemic failures within the Army, The Washington Post reports. Leaders failed to adequately train pilots in navigating DCA’s crowded airspace, failed to collect data on near misses and did not fix flawed helicopter instruments, among other findings.
FROM MARYLAND
All dressed up and nowhere to go: Two Montgomery County high schools have scrapped their homecoming dances because not enough students wanted to go, FOX5 D.C. reports.
“Are you looking for me?” That’s what a 22-year-old University of Maryland student asked a search-and-rescue cruiser after emerging from a six-day disappearance into the woods, The Washington Post reports. He was found Wednesday, and remained in medical care as of yesterday.
METRO MOMENT
Alex Ovechkin played his 22nd and final home opener this week, helping the Caps to a 5-3 win over Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. But the best moment of the night came before the puck dropped, when Ovechkin’s two sons, Sergei and Ilya, were given the job of reading off their dad’s name and jersey number. After the game, even Ovechkin — a man of few words and little sentimentality — admitted that he was moved. “It was a pretty cool moment,” he said.
We want to hear from you: Have an image from around D.C. you want to share? A question for our reporters? An “only in D.C.” moment? Tell us about it.
SPORTS
If the NFL season were a football game, the Commanders would have come out flat in the first quarter. Washington is 1-3 after four of its 17 regular season games, a stretch marked by injuries and disappointment. The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson and Dave Sheinin took stock of things ahead of Sunday’s Week 5 meeting with the Giants, breaking down the good and the bad from the early weeks of the season.
What to Watch Today
NHL: Capitals vs. Rangers, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
Thank you for reading! If you liked this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at metro@washsun.com.
The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Gaby Morera Di Núbila.
Authors
