DC council giving away DCPS property to Lab School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So shady. Why the need for an emergency resolution?

Ask Grosso. It's not even clear the mayor supports this.

The Mayor was at the Palisades Citizens Association meeting in October and spoke in favor of giving the school to Lab.

DCPS doesn't want the decrepit building back. The only people who are in a huff are the decrepit neighbors.

That is a Lab School talking point that has no basis in fact. DCPS has never made a determination on the building.

As for being decrepit, it was built at the same time and from the same plans as Key, Mann and Stoddert. DCPS is spending tens of millions of dollars to try and cram more space into those "decrepit" buildings.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/lab-school-seeks-to-extend-lease-on-northwest-washington-school-building/2013/12/02/f2dd0faa-5b8f-11e3-bf7e-f567ee61ae21_story.html?utm_term=.de9752ef02bd

"The Hardy School has not been used as a public school since the mid-1990s. In 1998, the city leased it to Rock Creek International, a private school that declared bankruptcy in 2006. The Lab School acquired Rock Creek’s lease and has used the building for about the last five years.

Lab currently pays $80,000 per year for the property, which includes a land area of 50,000 square feet and a building of more than 17,000 square feet. The proposed lease would charge $16.50 per rentable square foot, but the city would discount up to $10 per square foot to help offset the school’s operating costs. Lab’s expenditures on building renovations would also count as a credit toward the rent charge; for every dollar Lab spends on construction, it would pay the city one less dollar in rent. After 25 years, the base charge would be reset according to fair market value. Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith said the Gray administration is “comfortable moving forward with the lease.”

“The Lab School serves an important role as part of the continuum of services available to students in the District, and we believe there are a number of viable options to address the over-enrollment issues at nearby schools,” Smith wrote in an e-mail."

DCPS doesn't want the building back b/c they'd have to pay to renovate it as well as find a location for the DCPS kids with LDs who attend the school.

[Anonymous]

And, in comparison to other privates, Lab School gives next to nothing in scholarship money to applicants who don't receive any public funding. It is absolutely disgraceful.

Signed, Parent who applied for financial aid and was denied and went elsewhere and was offered a nice package.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS doesn't want the building back b/c they'd have to pay to renovate it as well as find a location for the DCPS kids with LDs who attend the school.

No, it's Lab School that would have to find a new location, as they are a private non-profit institution. It's disingenuous to suggest that they would just close their doors. And, they would have 7 years in which to do that because they have a lease until 2023.

Now, let's get back to why the DC Council should approve a 50 *year* lease on an emergency basis tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Here's the link to the council members' pages, with email addresses:

http://dccouncil.us/council

And the at-large members' email addresses:

[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS doesn't want the building back b/c they'd have to pay to renovate it as well as find a location for the DCPS kids with LDs who attend the school.

No, it's Lab School that would have to find a new location, as they are a private non-profit institution. It's disingenuous to suggest that they would just close their doors. And, they would have 7 years in which to do that because they have a lease until 2023.

Now, let's get back to why the DC Council should approve a 50 *year* lease on an emergency basis tomorrow.

There's only about 20 DCPS kids who attend that building anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS doesn't want the building back b/c they'd have to pay to renovate it as well as find a location for the DCPS kids with LDs who attend the school.

No, it's Lab School that would have to find a new location, as they are a private non-profit institution. It's disingenuous to suggest that they would just close their doors. And, they would have 7 years in which to do that because they have a lease until 2023.

Now, let's get back to why the DC Council should approve a 50 *year* lease on an emergency basis tomorrow.

If
There's only about 20 DCPS kids who attend that building anyway.

Theres triple that number of dcps students in trailers at nearby schools.

[Anonymous]

So if I read the legislation correctly, the city had multiple hearings and community meetings on the issue. You may disagree with their conclusion, but it's a bit disingenuous to claim they haven't thoroughly discussed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if I read the legislation correctly, the city had multiple hearings and community meetings on the issue. You may disagree with their conclusion, but it's a bit disingenuous to claim they haven't thoroughly discussed it.

They discussed it extensively three years ago, withdrew the plan due to opposition, and are now trying to use those same meetings as justification for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS doesn't want the building back b/c they'd have to pay to renovate it as well as find a location for the DCPS kids with LDs who attend the school.

No, it's Lab School that would have to find a new location, as they are a private non-profit institution. It's disingenuous to suggest that they would just close their doors. And, they would have 7 years in which to do that because they have a lease until 2023.

Now, let's get back to why the DC Council should approve a 50 *year* lease on an emergency basis tomorrow.

Yeah, they could find a new location or close it's doors. This lease debate has been going on for almost as many years as Lab's been in the building. They want a longer lease so they can do necessary renovations. They can't commit financially to the renovations without it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if I read the legislation correctly, the city had multiple hearings and community meetings on the issue. You may disagree with their conclusion, but it's a bit disingenuous to claim they haven't thoroughly discussed it.

They had one "public' meeting in 2013 that was only announced to Lab parents and teachers.

They scheduled another one in 2015 but cancelled it when word got out to the public.

[Anonymous]

At least it's for a school that has an enviable record of educating certain students with learning challenges -- rather than providing the land on highly favorable terms to a crony developer.

[Anonymous]

The neighborhood schiols arent big enough for the students, and schools like key have no room to build. Why not keep this property avaliable for DC students? Or give it to a charter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if I read the legislation correctly, the city had multiple hearings and community meetings on the issue. You may disagree with their conclusion, but it's a bit disingenuous to claim they haven't thoroughly discussed it.

They had one "public' meeting in 2013 that was only announced to Lab parents and teachers.

They scheduled another one in 2015 but cancelled it when word got out to the public.

They sure are trying to stifle an open discussion on this. Maybe because its a bad deal for DC taxpayers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS doesn't want the building back b/c they'd have to pay to renovate it as well as find a location for the DCPS kids with LDs who attend the school.

No, it's Lab School that would have to find a new location, as they are a private non-profit institution. It's disingenuous to suggest that they would just close their doors. And, they would have 7 years in which to do that because they have a lease until 2023.

Now, let's get back to why the DC Council should approve a 50 *year* lease on an emergency basis tomorrow.

There's only about 20 DCPS kids who attend that building anyway.

No. More than half the kids in that building are DC residents. Overall, 3/4 of the kids who go to Lab live in DC.

[Anonymous]

For the official information from the D.C. council website, please check out p 9 of:

http://dccouncil.us/files/user_uploads/event_testimony/December_20_2016_(Additional)_Meeting_Agenda.pdf

There is no link to the substance of the Emergency Disposal