DC Auditor Report on Duke Ellington

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of Barry- era DC.

Oh come on. There was every reason to leave Duke where it was, given that it had thrived there for decades. Downtown real estate and building costs would have been even more expensive than Georgetown. This continuing irrational effort to tie the location to the inexcusable cost overruns is nothing but snooty Georgetown and Burleith residents who are angry that a bunch of predominantly African American kids have the temerity to attend public school in their neighborhood.

Do you realize that you proved my point? I said that Ellington backers are conspiracy theorists about The Plan and then look at what you write, accusing the nearby neighbors of The Plan.

Well, since I am PP, and I am a nearby neighbor, I think I know a bit about what I am talking about.

The concern trolling for the poor Ellington students who will have to travel to Burleith in their new school, just like they did in the old school, is ridiculous. The school has been in Burleith for decades. Why should it have moved? Who would have benefitted from the move? Why were all the neighbors, and none of the Ellington families pushing for a move? You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to see what was going on here. All you had to do was listen.

Just because the school has been located somewhere for decades doesn't mean it makes sense for it to remain there. As for who would have benefitted, I'd suggest the students attending Wilson as some could have been shifted to a new Western HS that could accommodate kids from the attendance zine and from across the city. It arguable could then open up more seats at Wilson for OOB students. That's a lot of kids who would have been better off in my mind. Then again, bizarre decades-old conspiracy theories are much more fun.

This idea is a joke. The proposed new "Western High School" would be a failure. The same NW families that are rejecting Hardy would reject the new Western HS, and it would be either 4/5 empty, or full of OOB kids - who, just like the Ellington kids, would have to travel from all over the city to get to Burleith. And what do you think would have happened if the city had tried to renovate old Ellington into new Western HS, and build a new Ellington? Take the $100+ million cost overrun...and double it.

There was no reason to move Ellington; the idea of a new Western High School is a pipe dream. The cost overruns are inexcusable - but are not related to these ideas.

It is not a joke that Wilson is 1800-1900 students in a building designed for 1600. It is also not a joke that the bulge of students coming through the feeders is huge and will only increase the pressures (with few to limited OOB students). Western High School would be an excellent idea if not for those whose interests lie diametrically opposed to common sense.

True, Wilson overcrowding is no joke (though it is not as bad as people think - the boundary changes that were put in place last year will make a difference moving forward). But the idea of putting a brand new high school in Burleith (and expecting the same parents who refuse to send their kids to Hardy to send their kids to that new school) and building a second brand new building for DE while Roosevelt and Coolidge High Schools sit largely empty just to the east of Wilson is, in fact, a joke.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:How can this system continue? IF DE is a public school, it should be treated like one. Is the council at least working on changing the governance structure?

The school is legally a joint venture between the Kennedy Center, GWU, and DCPS.

DCPS could seek to renegotiate the agreement but never heard anyone express interest in that.

Because DC stands for "Dysfunctional City."

Fund cost overruns for what is now a $200M project, with no board rights? Duh. Even Marion Barr.y could have done better!

The Ellington Board isn't running this $200M project. DGS and DCPS are.

In theory (and as this be DC, so that's a big assumption), the Ellington board members are supposed to act as fiduciaries.

[Anonymous]

I love that DE also gets corporate sponsors for their "annual auction" type of fundraiser that not only brings in celebrities lots of $$$.

While the other schools get stripped of their modernization money AND put together fundraisers that bring in a hell of a lot less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of Barry- era DC.

Oh come on. There was every reason to leave Duke where it was, given that it had thrived there for decades. Downtown real estate and building costs would have been even more expensive than Georgetown. This continuing irrational effort to tie the location to the inexcusable cost overruns is nothing but snooty Georgetown and Burleith residents who are angry that a bunch of predominantly African American kids have the temerity to attend public school in their neighborhood.

Do you realize that you proved my point? I said that Ellington backers are conspiracy theorists about The Plan and then look at what you write, accusing the nearby neighbors of The Plan.

Well, since I am PP, and I am a nearby neighbor, I think I know a bit about what I am talking about.

The concern trolling for the poor Ellington students who will have to travel to Burleith in their new school, just like they did in the old school, is ridiculous. The school has been in Burleith for decades. Why should it have moved? Who would have benefitted from the move? Why were all the neighbors, and none of the Ellington families pushing for a move? You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to see what was going on here. All you had to do was listen.

Just because the school has been located somewhere for decades doesn't mean it makes sense for it to remain there. As for who would have benefitted, I'd suggest the students attending Wilson as some could have been shifted to a new Western HS that could accommodate kids from the attendance zine and from across the city. It arguable could then open up more seats at Wilson for OOB students. That's a lot of kids who would have been better off in my mind. Then again, bizarre decades-old conspiracy theories are much more fun.

This idea is a joke. The proposed new "Western High School" would be a failure. The same NW families that are rejecting Hardy would reject the new Western HS, and it would be either 4/5 empty, or full of OOB kids - who, just like the Ellington kids, would have to travel from all over the city to get to Burleith. And what do you think would have happened if the city had tried to renovate old Ellington into new Western HS, and build a new Ellington? Take the $100+ million cost overrun...and double it.

There was no reason to move Ellington; the idea of a new Western High School is a pipe dream. The cost overruns are inexcusable - but are not related to these ideas.

It is not a joke that Wilson is 1800-1900 students in a building designed for 1600. It is also not a joke that the bulge of students coming through the feeders is huge and will only increase the pressures (with few to limited OOB students). Western High School would be an excellent idea if not for those whose interests lie diametrically opposed to common sense.

True, Wilson overcrowding is no joke (though it is not as bad as people think - the boundary changes that were put in place last year will make a difference moving forward). But the idea of putting a brand new high school in Burleith (and expecting the same parents who refuse to send their kids to Hardy to send their kids to that new school) and building a second brand new building for DE while Roosevelt and Coolidge High Schools sit largely empty just to the east of Wilson is, in fact, a joke.

We can agree on your latter point (though not your former, Wilson still has a huge problem going forward and it will get much worse)! But given that this overpriced high school is being built in Burleith whether taxpayers seem to want it or not, we should at least think of creative solutions to make better use of it. Co-locating a reopened Western High with Duke Ellington would make a lot of sense. Moving DE to co-locate with near empty Roosevelt, Coolidge, or Dunbar, and reopening Western at much lower cost would make even more.

[Anonymous]

http://www.ellingtonschool.org/ellington-fund/performance-series-of-legends/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
In theory (and as this be DC, so that's a big assumption), the Ellington board members are supposed to act as fiduciaries.

Fiduciary to the school, not to DCPS or the taxpayers of the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there were allegations of criminal malfeasance, fraud or theft on the part of a city employee or contractor the DC Attorney General could take action.

But all Patterson's report found was a lot of mismanagement and lack of adherence to best practices. It's galling but not criminal.

True, the criminal aspect is far from proven, but there's clear misuse of public funds. Mostly local, but I'd guess federal too, since the Department of Ed pays Title I and other funds.

Who at the federal level is in charge of fiscalizing stuff like this?

I'm no lawyer, but there are sins of commission and sins of omission. The money doesn't have to be outright stolen to result in liability for mismanaging public dollars. Having no documented approvals for millions of dollars spent should raise a lot of red flags with the AG.

+1. Exactly.

What's the AG waiting for? Isn't this a textbook example of misuse of public funds, just a mile from the White House, and involving the federally-funded Kennedy Center?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
In theory (and as this be DC, so that's a big assumption), the Ellington board members are supposed to act as fiduciaries.

Fiduciary to the school, not to DCPS or the taxpayers of the city.

Being a publicly-supported school fiduciary doesn't confer a duty to steal the taxpayers blind! And the Ellington board doesn't exactly have a good record in providing oversight even just of the school. Several years ago, the Ellington board agreed to pay its principal, for a school of only 500 pupils, over twice the highest comparable salary for a DCPS high school principal. It turned out it was also twice the national scale, when the Ellington principal then left to accept only half of his former Ellington compensation in a job with system-wide responsibility for the LA Unified School District, the second largest system in the country with almost 700,000 students. And the most outrageous part is that the Ellington board agreed to pay such an above-scale compensation package for its head at the same time when Ellington was laying off full-time teaching staff, citing budget pressures. Oy!

[Anonymous]

The problem, from a good governance standpoint, is the DE fiduciaries have no interest in serving the taxpayers' interest. Rather, their interest is in serving Duke Ellington's interest. It's like my kids being appointed fiduciaries over my bank account. The most logical way to fix the situation would be to require the fiduciaries to be in service to the City's coffers as well as Ellington's stability. If fundraising is to be done, that would be overseen by different people. There is no real oversight here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
In theory (and as this be DC, so that's a big assumption), the Ellington board members are supposed to act as fiduciaries.

Fiduciary to the school, not to DCPS or the taxpayers of the city.

Being a publicly-supported school fiduciary doesn't confer a duty to steal the taxpayers blind! And the Ellington board doesn't exactly have a good record in providing oversight even just of the school. Several years ago, the Ellington board agreed to pay its principal, for a school of only 500 pupils, over twice the highest comparable salary for a DCPS high school principal. It turned out it was also twice the national scale, when the Ellington principal then left to accept only half of his former Ellington compensation in a job with system-wide responsibility for the LA Unified School District, the second largest system in the country with almost 700,000 students. And the most outrageous part is that the Ellington board agreed to pay such an above-scale compensation package for its head at the same time when Ellington was laying off full-time teaching staff, citing budget pressures. Oy!

This is indeed outrageous behavior, hijacking public money.

Who's the enabler in the Mayor's office or in City Council?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
In theory (and as this be DC, so that's a big assumption), the Ellington board members are supposed to act as fiduciaries.

Fiduciary to the school, not to DCPS or the taxpayers of the city.

Being a publicly-supported school fiduciary doesn't confer a duty to steal the taxpayers blind! And the Ellington board doesn't exactly have a good record in providing oversight even just of the school. Several years ago, the Ellington board agreed to pay its principal, for a school of only 500 pupils, over twice the highest comparable salary for a DCPS high school principal. It turned out it was also twice the national scale, when the Ellington principal then left to accept only half of his former Ellington compensation in a job with system-wide responsibility for the LA Unified School District, the second largest system in the country with almost 700,000 students. And the most outrageous part is that the Ellington board agreed to pay such an above-scale compensation package for its head at the same time when Ellington was laying off full-time teaching staff, citing budget pressures. Oy!

This is indeed outrageous behavior, hijacking public money.

Who's the enabler in the Mayor's office or in City Council?

All of the above. The Mayor put it in the budget and the Council approved it. They've all said in various meetings that they support the modernization moving forward.

[Anonymous]

DE needs to function more like a quasi-governmental instrumentality like the Kennedy Center, whose Trustees include Government officials and private citizens appointed by the President. The are different rules for funds appropriated by Congress and those obtained by private donations and ticket sales. Is there any oversight by the Council or DCPS in terms of how funds are spent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DE needs to function more like a quasi-governmental instrumentality like the Kennedy Center, whose Trustees include Government officials and private citizens appointed by the President. The are different rules for funds appropriated by Congress and those obtained by private donations and ticket sales. Is there any oversight by the Council or DCPS in terms of how funds are spent?

DE is getting $12,743 per pupil.

http://www.dcpsdatacenter.com/assets/docs/pdfs/fy17initialallocation_Ellington%20School%20of%20the%20Arts.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love that DE also gets corporate sponsors for their "annual auction" type of fundraiser that not only brings in celebrities lots of $$$.

While the other schools get stripped of their modernization money AND put together fundraisers that bring in a hell of a lot less.

It seems that bling is their thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DE needs to function more like a quasi-governmental instrumentality like the Kennedy Center, whose Trustees include Government officials and private citizens appointed by the President. The are different rules for funds appropriated by Congress and those obtained by private donations and ticket sales. Is there any oversight by the Council or DCPS in terms of how funds are spent?

DE is getting $12,743 per pupil.

http://www.dcpsdatacenter.com/assets/docs/pdfs/fy17initialallocation_Ellington%20School%20of%20the%20Arts.pdf

Oversight? Ha! We're in DeeCee. The District gives DE carte blanche.