Bill introduced to declare the Old Hardy School surplus and extend long-term lease to the Lab School
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Anonymous
| Why is it an emergency to dispose of this property? I am so confused |
Anonymous
Shame on David Grosso, specifically: In May 2016, however, At-Large Councilmember David Grosso, chair of the Education Committee, inserted enabling language into legislation that changed the continuous occupancy requirement from 2004 to 2008. The Council approved that change last November in an 10-3 vote. About a month-and-a-half earlier, seven Lab School board members and their lobbyist, Ben Young, with powerhouse law firm Greenberg Traurig, had dumped $7,700 into Grosso’s campaign fund. https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/20985063/will-dc-look-to-a-leased-schoolhouse-to-ease-overcrowding |
Anonymous
| What is the role of the DME in this process? |
Anonymous
The emergency is that the normal process for disposal of a public school building requires public hearings, which would Bowser doesn't want in this case because it is so egregious. |
Anonymous
If they go through emergency legislation it's entirely in the hand of the Council and the mayor. In the regular process it would be driven by the DME's office. A full description is here: https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/School Reuse Process 6.6.2017.pdf Lots of public meetings, public hearings and public inputs, and at least two council votes. With emergency legislation all of that gets replaced with a single vote. |
Anonymous
Didn’t she try to declare an emergency and was rebuffed just a few years ago? |
Anonymous
| It would be great if the Post would dig deeper into this. It just doesn’t make sense why this is being pushed so quickly. |
Anonymous
Yes. See this huge thread from 2016. Someone ought to challenger this “emergency” in court. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/606702.page;jsessionid=F8637EECD777D2AD11C1A19909C2E6DD |
Anonymous
| The "emergency" is that Lab wants to secure this lease ASAP so it can move forward with its plans to renovate its main campus. That plan includes destroying its perfectly good pool, which was widely used by the community at large, so it can build a really big theater that will only benefit the Lab community. When Lab was trying to get permits to build that pool 20+ years ago, it made representations about how it would allow the community to use that pool. Now Lab is trying to take the Old Hardy building and the pool away from the community. |
Anonymous
Current tuition: Elementary $50,650 Intermediate $50,650 Junior High $51,250 High School $52,500 |
Anonymous
| This is crazy!! What can residents do? I feel so frustrated because it seems like the mayor and council members do whatever they want without considering what their voters want. Can anybody organize a protest or have the post investigate? |
Anonymous
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Number one question should be how much have the Lab School lobbyists donated to the campaigns of the Mayor and each counsel member.
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Anonymous
www.kohp.org |
Anonymous
This isn't a new issue. Bowser tried to push through this emergency lease just a few years ago and there was outcry and the plan stopped. Now they're trying again. |
Anonymous
| This is bullshit. Charters should have a crack at this first. |