Explain the Murch renovation saga to me please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. Every school that has gone through a renovation has experienced the same exact madness with the process. Murch is not special. Relax. Stop whining and just push through each issue. It will get completed.

They aren't whining. Answering people's questions by stating the facts is not whining.

In fact, entire push to modernize the schools across the city started in 1997 when Murch was supposed to be renovated. Instead, Murch parents got a grant enabling the city to review the conditions of all schools, and urged the city to undertake the process of modernizing all of the schools.

"We thank the Murch Elementary School parents, Murch teacher Deborah Ziff Cook, and
especially principal Dr. Marjorie Cuthbert. They made this report possible because of their
willingness to look beyond the many pressing concerns of their own school to the needs
of the entire district. We would also like to thank Mary Gill, principal of Murch Elementary
School from 1984 to 1998 and current chief academic officer of DCPS, for her strong
support of the early activities of this project."

from "Replace or Modernize? The Future of the District of Columbia's Endangered Old and Historic Public Schools" May 2001.

So while other schools advocated for themselves, Murch advocated for everyone across the whole city. Is that the "whining" you are talking about 15:04? So maybe we should all thank Murch for getting the ball rolling in the first place and acknowledge that pushing Murch back in the process over and over and over again for the past 15 years is not quite the same as what other schools have been through, especially under the circumstances faced by double the number of Murch kids 15 years later.

Thank you for posting this. Very interesting.

[Anonymous]

I think the Murch parents should battle the Janney parents in a duel to get the next allocated renovation funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. Every school that has gone through a renovation has experienced the same exact madness with the process. Murch is not special. Relax. Stop whining and just push through each issue. It will get completed.

They aren't whining. Answering people's questions by stating the facts is not whining.

In fact, entire push to modernize the schools across the city started in 1997 when Murch was supposed to be renovated. Instead, Murch parents got a grant enabling the city to review the conditions of all schools, and urged the city to undertake the process of modernizing all of the schools.

"We thank the Murch Elementary School parents, Murch teacher Deborah Ziff Cook, and
especially principal Dr. Marjorie Cuthbert. They made this report possible because of their
willingness to look beyond the many pressing concerns of their own school to the needs
of the entire district. We would also like to thank Mary Gill, principal of Murch Elementary
School from 1984 to 1998 and current chief academic officer of DCPS, for her strong
support of the early activities of this project."

from "Replace or Modernize? The Future of the District of Columbia's Endangered Old and Historic Public Schools" May 2001.

So while other schools advocated for themselves, Murch advocated for everyone across the whole city. Is that the "whining" you are talking about 15:04? So maybe we should all thank Murch for getting the ball rolling in the first place and acknowledge that pushing Murch back in the process over and over and over again for the past 15 years is not quite the same as what other schools have been through, especially under the circumstances faced by double the number of Murch kids 15 years later.

Altruism and the bigger picture is admirable, but I've learned from previous experience with the DC government that if you don't advocate directly for your "parochial" interest, you are likely to get nothing. Everyone else is advocating for what they need or want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. Every school that has gone through a renovation has experienced the same exact madness with the process. Murch is not special. Relax. Stop whining and just push through each issue. It will get completed.

They aren't whining. Answering people's questions by stating the facts is not whining.

In fact, entire push to modernize the schools across the city started in 1997 when Murch was supposed to be renovated. Instead, Murch parents got a grant enabling the city to review the conditions of all schools, and urged the city to undertake the process of modernizing all of the schools.

"We thank the Murch Elementary School parents, Murch teacher Deborah Ziff Cook, and
especially principal Dr. Marjorie Cuthbert. They made this report possible because of their
willingness to look beyond the many pressing concerns of their own school to the needs
of the entire district. We would also like to thank Mary Gill, principal of Murch Elementary
School from 1984 to 1998 and current chief academic officer of DCPS, for her strong
support of the early activities of this project."

from "Replace or Modernize? The Future of the District of Columbia's Endangered Old and Historic Public Schools" May 2001.

So while other schools advocated for themselves, Murch advocated for everyone across the whole city. Is that the "whining" you are talking about 15:04? So maybe we should all thank Murch for getting the ball rolling in the first place and acknowledge that pushing Murch back in the process over and over and over again for the past 15 years is not quite the same as what other schools have been through, especially under the circumstances faced by double the number of Murch kids 15 years later.

So DC was ready to renovate Murch during the Clinton administration. And two, two-term presidencies later Murch is still waiting. Murch will be lucky if DCPS breaks ground by the next Clinton administration!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
About 10 years ago, Murch had quite a (sort of deserved) reputation for having extremely difficult, unreasonable, and vocal parents. Not that it's right, but perhaps that has something to do with it? You need an ally to get things done at DCPS.


Yes, of course, it is all the parents' fault.

No, and not a fair response - that post didn't say it was the only reason, so don't suggest that it did. It may have been part of it, though. Murch needs to be renovated; I think we can all agree on that. That has nothing to do with whether it is located in Ward 3, has nice parents, was active in boundary discussions, or is located near Janney. But, wondering why it's being pushed back? Could be many reasons - and one of them might be a decades old reputation. Silly, maybe, given the positive efforts of so many there, but it may be. This City jumps to all sorts of conclusions about people, many of which are unfair and frankly untrue (75% of DCUM responses are like this), and it's almost impossible to change someone's mind.

Good luck, Murch. I know you all have worked tirelessly on this for years. I hope, in the end, you get the renovation you desperately need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About 10 years ago, Murch had quite a (sort of deserved) reputation for having extremely difficult, unreasonable, and vocal parents. Not that it's right, but perhaps that has something to do with it? You need an ally to get things done at DCPS.

You could say the same thing about Janney. In the view of the mayor's office (and initially Mary Cheh), the Janney parents were considered difficult, unreasonable and vocal because many opposed a "public-private" partnership that would have monetized part of the Janney school yard for a condo tower, as the condition to a school renovation. I happen to think that the parents were correct, because increasing enrollment at Janney shows that the school needs every square foot of its school yard. It also seemed unfair to expect Janney to "self fund" a portion of its renovation through giving up a portion of its playground, when other schools were being 100% funded through DCPS' capital budget.

Today Janney is on -- what? -- its third renovation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
About 10 years ago, Murch had quite a (sort of deserved) reputation for having extremely difficult, unreasonable, and vocal parents. Not that it's right, but perhaps that has something to do with it? You need an ally to get things done at DCPS.


Yes, of course, it is all the parents' fault.

No, and not a fair response - that post didn't say it was the only reason, so don't suggest that it did. It may have been part of it, though. Murch needs to be renovated; I think we can all agree on that. That has nothing to do with whether it is located in Ward 3, has nice parents, was active in boundary discussions, or is located near Janney. But, wondering why it's being pushed back? Could be many reasons - and one of them might be a decades old reputation. Silly, maybe, given the positive efforts of so many there, but it may be. This City jumps to all sorts of conclusions about people, many of which are unfair and frankly untrue (75% of DCUM responses are like this), and it's almost impossible to change someone's mind.

Good luck, Murch. I know you all have worked tirelessly on this for years. I hope, in the end, you get the renovation you desperately need.

I think the frustration is that so many of the comments focus on what Murch parents should be doing, or haven't done, or did 10 years ago. Parents are considered too political and too much of a pain if they push it. If they don't push and fight, the school shouldn't except to get what it needs. The point is, parents shouldn't have to anything. Instead of asking what parents should be doing, we should all be asking why DC leaders aren't doing what they should be. We should all be angry that the system is so broken. We should all be furious that kids are caught in the middle of ridiculous adult battles instead of having their safety and educations compromised.

While I appreciate you posting on DCUM that you hope Murch gets the renovation it needs (let's face it, DCPS reads this), I wish everyone who reads this thread and finds the situation ridiculous would just take a moment to email their Councilmember or Mayor Bowser after the first of the year to tell them the school modernization process is broken and they need to make modernizing crumbling schools a top priority. They need to put kids first.

[Anonymous]

^^ +1000

Clearly there is a need to renovate Murch. Murch has a very large student body that is more diverse than most Ward 3 schools. It is a very open community that cares about kids throughout the city. In addition to the early reports on modernization mentioned above, Murch leads several city-wide diversity efforts. It is truly a great school with stellar values.

I question the process DCPS has used for prioritizing renovations. Frankly I think that it is very naive to think it is just the squeaky wheel that gets the funds. DCPS has poured funds into terribly performing schools, and has closed schools only to have to open them again years later. Planning has been a disaster and nobody is being held accountable. The new mayor has given the green light to maintain the status quo.

DCPS needs to do right by Murch. I hope the renovation starts quickly and is completed quickly. The children in DC deserve certain minimal infrastructure standards. Due to DCPS foot dragging Murch is not meeting these standards. I would hate to see a child injured or harmed in order to get action from DCPS.

[Anonymous]

I hear your frustration, and I agree - DCPS should be doing what it is supposed to, and the focus shouldn't be on what parents should or shouldn't be doing. It doesn't appear to be happening that way, but it should. So, to the parents who are working so hard to make it happen, kudos to you for your efforts, and keep at it (because it looks like you might have to). I truly do hope it works out for Murch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About 10 years ago, Murch had quite a (sort of deserved) reputation for having extremely difficult, unreasonable, and vocal parents. Not that it's right, but perhaps that has something to do with it? You need an ally to get things done at DCPS.

I promise that Murch's parent body is no more unreasonable or vocal than Lafayette or Janney's parent body. Yet Janney gets two (or is it three?) renovations and Lafayette's renovation process is, so far, going smoothly.

[Anonymous]

There's an update on the renovation posted on the school website. It's long, but the highlights are:

1. A design RFP will be issued next week, which means a firm should be hired early next year.
2. Construction will begin in June 2016.
3. The $25M additional in funds required for full modernization/expansion needs to be part of the 2016 budget process. If it doesn't come through, they'll do the work in phases.
4. The full project is expected to take 18-24 months.
5. Students will have to be relocated for all or part of the project.
6. No swing space has been identified.

So I guess the good news is that they're going to hire a design firm soon. The bad news is that there's not enough money to do the job, and Murch students will be in TBD temporary space for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's an update on the renovation posted on the school website. It's long, but the highlights are:

1. A design RFP will be issued next week, which means a firm should be hired early next year.
2. Construction will begin in June 2016.
3. The $25M additional in funds required for full modernization/expansion needs to be part of the 2016 budget process. If it doesn't come through, they'll do the work in phases.
4. The full project is expected to take 18-24 months.
5. Students will have to be relocated for all or part of the project.
6. No swing space has been identified.

So I guess the good news is that they're going to hire a design firm soon. The bad news is that there's not enough money to do the job, and Murch students will be in TBD temporary space for a long time.

Just so no one is mislead, I believe No. 4 only applies if No. 3 happens.

[Anonymous]

Learned from the Deal renovation of the Reno School: DGS is incompetent and only a firm and vocal LSRT, principal, community packed meeting with DGS with Cheh and Bowser fully behind an on-time renovation will make a difference. But Deal and Janney got first dibbs on the money. Murch parents really do need to kick butt to preserve the funding and fight DGS slippage.

[Anonymous]

Would they provide transportation to the swing space? How has that been handled in the past?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would they provide transportation to the swing space? How has that been handled in the past?

Typically swing space is in the neighborhood, so transportation would not be provided. Most schools have been able to have swing space on site (in trailers), but the Murch property is likely too small and the scope of the project too large to allow that. This is one of the many questions that simply can not be answered yet. One of the issues that the Murch SIT is stressing to DC officials is the need for planning by the city to provide parents the answers to the many questions they will have.